Fate Apocrypha
by ginobi47
Summary: 1000 masters,17470 Square Kilometer battleground in a battle royal that may last more than a year for the strongest Holy Grail in history, the Holy Grail created by Gaia. Welcome to Apocrypha
1. Starting Line

**DISCLAIMER:** This FANFIC is based on Fate/Apocrypha and the Nasuverse in general. I dont own the title Fate/Apocrypha, the servants and any other stuff related to it

**Author's Note**:

This fanfic is BASED on the Nasuverse. Emphasis on BASED coz I will be changing and some stuff of Nasu's work a bit

This work was inspired from my absolute favorite fanfic, Tainted Ideals by Stormedge, and from Fate/Apocrypha itself.

This work also came to be because I hated the 7 servant limit of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War. For that reason, I will be using servants from Fate/Apocrypha, Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Strange Fake, Fate/Extra and some of my own creations in this fanfic

I hope that this will be the last fanfic I will be uploading for a long while. My inability to focus on one fanfic is starting to piss me off.

Lastly, Enjoy

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><p>Gaia, the shapeless spirit of the world, watches in horror as hisher children destroys each other and the world they live in for petty reasons. Worthless greed and worthless pride has driven North Korea and China to do the unthinkable, a series of preemptive nuclear strike at the strongest country of that time, the United States of America.

It was July 4, 2301, the city of Washington was reduced to a parking lot by Nuclear Bomb from North Korea. It was followed by 21 nuclear attacks to other major countries in order to eliminate threats. One hour following the strikes, China announced to the world that they are now the rulers world, resistance is futile.

Unfortunately for them, their target in the USA was in Texas during the strike thus was able to mount a counter offensive with their allied countries only 30 minutes after the broadcast. The current president of America was a man from Texas, thus a man of action and he decided with his allies to unleash the greatest number of nuclear strikes in history, 138 nuclear bombs from multiple countries were launched into China and North Korea which effectively began and ended the shortest, most destructive war in human history, World War 3.

In the month that followed showed showed how much change the 2 hour war did to the world. China became a battered empty shell of its former self while the land that was North Korea simply didn't exist anymore. The nuclear fallout combined with the season winds causes the deaths of more than half the population in the world.

Majority of the people that are connected to the magical world were able to survive thanks to various magecraft and alchemic knowledge. People of the church used powerful artifacts, alchemy and rituals to make them either highly resistant or completely immune to the effects of radiation.

But that was simply the trigger that caused the near end of the human race.

As the world was ravaged for no good reason, Gaia pleaded for aid and his/her guardians answered his/her call. The first to respond was the last of the True Ancestor, Arcueid Brunestud which proceeded to perform mass genocide against those who are a threat to the world. She mainly focused on military bases, destroying all the machines while killing anyone who tries to stop her. Her actions attracted the attention of many countries which started an all out offensive against her making her job easier as she no longer needs to hunt them one by one.

The church also sent their agents against her thus effectively slowing her progress into a crawl. Gaia decided to provided her with help thus called once again for aid. Gaia awakened the guardians that he/she decided to put them into hibernation a few hundred years before the creation of the True Ancestors, the Werewolves.

These 20 foot Werewolves were commanded into hibernation by Gaia due to their territorial tendencies which led to in fighting amongst their race thus resulting in the destruction of a mountain or two. Unlike True -Ancestors, they have no magical abilities such as mystic eyes or marble phantasms thus leading them into seclusion in order to avoid contact with humans. If such encounter does occur, they are forced to kill the witness to keep their existence a secret.

They are literally immortal as long as they stay on Gaia. Combining that with their brute strength that exceeds the True Ancestors, they are Gaia's ultimate weapon and also his/her greatest threat. By awakening the 19 original Werewolves to aid Arcueid, the human population was reduced to 1% in only 1 week. The mass genocide was mainly caused by the Werewolves and their limitless blood lust thus causing them to attack any living thing in sight

In August 1 2301, the destruction ended as the Werewolves were commanded into hibernation while the True Ancestor was left to do what she wants. Gaia believes that the genocide was a form of tough love to the human race so he/she allowed more than 1 trillion people to live and rebuild in the war ravaged earth. Most of the survivors were either Magi or part of the Church who knew ways to avoid the guardians of Gaia. The new civilization that risen from the ashes of destruction is the world where the logic of the old world no longer exists and magecraft is widespread knowledge

* * *

><p>2862 AD<p>

Somewhere on the southern border of Mongolia

Michael Angelo rests his tired 6 foot, 25 year old body near a campfire in the middle of the night as he contemplates the events that happened earlier that day. Once again, the church has sent several 1st class Executors after him which would have been fine but this time, they sent one of his juniors which made the battle twice as hard as its suppose to be.

He tilts his head to the left to see his friend Larry Huges a couple of meters away from him with a halberd, a knife, a morning star in his chest and a spear shoved into his face . He was surprised how skilled and powerful Larry was despite being in the age of 53 and with the help of 4 other Executors, he would have lost the battle. However, the church seems greatly underestimate the 7th seat in the Burial Agency which Michael still holds after 34 years. If the 11 popes of the church wanted to kill him, they should have sent one of the other Burial Agents which he stands no chance of winning. Fortunately for him, the Burial Agents seems to be in odds with the popes thus refusing any assignments that does not involve killing any non humans.

He also wields the 3rd Holy Scripture, The Fake Pandora's Box as his first and last resort in any combat situation. Though nowhere near as strong as the other holy scriptures as a weapon, it does make up for its flexibility as an armory. It takes the shape of a silver suite case that is normally chained on his waist which was suppose to contain all the "evils" of the world and "hope". Out of the 100% net weight of the box, 1% is "Hope" in a form of constant regenerative magic for the wielder, though he will still die if his head or heart gets chopped off.

Another 1% is the "Evil" made by man in the form of 72 holy conceptual weapons of different shapes, sizes and strength. 12 of them are the originals and the rest have the same abilities of the originals but in a different shape.

The other 98% is the "Evil" from everything else such as animals, spirits, nature and even God (though that is up for debate). The bundle of energy fused and turned into a parasitic beast called "The Abomination of Desolation" which gives the user inhumane amounts of power per use but comes in a very high price. The Abomination slowly takes over the user's body per use thus Michael has only used it 3 times in his entire lifetime, each use lasting only 1 second. If not used for extended periods of time, the user can take back parts of the corrupted body part

The last time he used it was 30 minutes ago against the Executors. By using a Multi Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon and all 72 conceptual weapons, he killed all 5 of them in a single move which lasted only a second. He was clean of corruption after not using the Abomination for a few years but after only 1 second, from the right elbow to his fingertips is now covered with corruption.

_At the very least, it looks cool_ Michael thinks while observing his right hand. Though grotesque, it takes the form of a black spiky gauntlet with red veins pulsing thru it.

_What's the word that the young people use to describe this?... Ah! Badass!_ Michael laughs at the thought. Thanks to his running from the church, he was exposed to different cultures and made him realize how much he was missing out on. If he only discovered how awesome the world was 39 years ago, he wouldn't be such a boring person

Killing intent suddenly strikes him from behind like a dagger to the gut. He was in no condition to fight with every muscle of his body was near its breaking point from the Multi Dime- damn its too long thus he shall call the move MDRP-72. The 72 weapons are scattered all over the place thus using the MDRP-72 is impossible unless all of them are in the box. He could call them back but it will take 2-3 minutes for them to reassemble themselves to be of use and he doubts that he will even survive 30 seconds with his battered body. Right now, even one of those Executors could kill him without much trouble.

_*sigh*... No choice then_ He pulls himself up and pulls out his favorite weapon from the head of his junior, the spear Elohim while he draws 4 black keys on the other hand. Michael has already accepted that he might fall here but if he is going down, he might as well go down swinging

It was a pitch black thanks to the clouds aside from the fire that he made. He cant see the enemy while the enemy can see him thus the odds are obviously against him.

_Perfect_ He thought. He strain his eyes to see beyond what was possible causing the color spectrum that his eyes can view began to change. A second after activating his Pure Eyes, he views the world as a beautiful moving scetch , no colors, just black outline, white background and everything was transparent. Its as if God was drawing the world right before his eyes.

_Where is the enemy?_ He thinks to himself. As if answering his question, his eyes sees thru trees and rocks in search of the enemy which he spots 30 meters away from him. He sees a woman with short hair, wearing a turltle neck with long sleeves and a long skirt. He also sees the insanely large mana being generated from the woman in the form of black smoke gushing out of her body.

Michael lets out a sigh of relief as he sheaths his weapons. He waves his right hand which recalls all of the scattered weapons back into the box by turning them into mist. He relaxes his eyes thus bringing color back into the world then sits on the floor. A few minutes later, a woman with unparalleled beauty approaches the fire. She had short blond hair, red eyes, white long sleave and long purple skirt. Definitely not the elegant clothes normally seen in the cold parts of Mongolia

"Yo Michael!"

"You should really stop doing that Arcueid-nee. I might die from heart attack one of this days" He said to the blond girl

"I cant help it you know? You look like the man I love the most and the woman I hate the greatest at the same time. Bluish Black hair from the fake nun and silver eyes from Shiki, you look too much like them." Arcueid said in an exaggerated manner as she takes a seat on the ground near the fire. "Have I ever told you I nearly killed your grandmother?"

"No... But grandma always said to be careful around you. Care to elaborate?"

"Weeeell... I liked a guy, Shiki, long time ago but unfortunately, I wasnt the only one" Her face then turns from reminiscing to pure hatred.

"After all these years, I still cant believe I lost to that four eyed, currying loving, fake nun! When I saw your grandmother who looks so much like her, I thought that I finally had a second chance to rip her to pieces without Shiki knowing! The temptation was... Er... Where did you go Michael?" Arcueid finally notices that Michael was no longer on the floor.

5 meters away, Michael moves out of the safety of the trees to see if Arcueid has finally calm down. He finally understands why his grandmother told him to be cautious around her. Even if she is the self proclaimed guardian of his bloodline, her odds of accidentally killing those who she is suppose to guard is insanely high. Michael drags his tired body back to the fire while still keeping an eye on Arcueid just in case she goes mad again

"Well... Thats all in the past so.." Michael said hoping that Arcueid's whimsical personality will save him from a potential bloodbath

"Your right. Then lets talk about the present. What happened to them?" She says while pointing a thumb at a dead executor

He tells her about the clash that happened earlier in what detail he can remember about it.

"I really hope they would give up soon. 30 plus years of running is taking its toll" Michael complains

"If you keep talking like that, you might turn into an old man faster" Arcueid teased

"I hate to remind you but I _AM_ an old man. Despite my appearance, I am already 59 years old"

"Oh... right. I keep forgetting that. But seriously, 30 years of chasing just for a stupid box that gives you a bit of immortality? The popes must really hate you"

"Said the thousand plus year old woman who cant get over her loss against a love rival"

"Haha! Very funny. Now tell me why are they still chasing you or else you will wish that you were an old man" Arcueid said, her voice clearly stating that she was serious. Breaking under pressure, Michael simply answers rather than point out how childish this thousand year old sister was.

"I never told you why?"

"That's why I'm asking"

"Well, it all began 6 months after the church discovered that I could control the 3rd Holy Scripture to some extent. They commanded me to kill you, so I said no and ran. The end" Michael said as he ended the story short, too short for Arcueid's liking.

"As much as I am flattered, which I am by the way, it still doesn't explain why they would chase you for 30 years. Someone must really hate your guts"

"There is one pope that seems to be in odds with the 5th member of the Burial Agency. Since it was known that me and the 5th were friends, I guess the pope saw it as an opportunity to kill off one agent, namely me"

"How did he pull that off? You dont seem to be the guy that does bad things on a regular basis. There is absolutey no way they would spend so much resources on one guy"

"It was surprisingly easy. The thing that is inside of the box is called "Abomination". All the pope needed to was add "Of Desolation" to its name and viola, I became the ANTI CHRIST."

Arcueid thinks for a bit, connecting dots if you will, and finally understands how much crap his little brother is in.

"Oh... I see. By declaring you the enemy of the church, many young hopefuls will take it upon themselves to kill you. Sucks to be you" Arcueid said in a teasing manner

"Yes, It does suck to be me" Michael replied with a sigh. He was way past deluding himself that his circumstances can be changed by clearing his name

"Is that why you're going to join the Grail War in Apocrypha? To wish for the destruction of the church?" Arcueid asks. Destroying the church would give him freedom but also protect her sister in one swoop. But the answer of her brother was something she didn't expect

"Oh no no no. I like the church, its just the people who are running it are either power hungry or just down right insane. Besides, there's a lot of good people in it too, just like the 5th. He is crazy but good never the less"

"Then why are you joining that battle royal?" Arcueid inquired. No matter how much she thinks about it, if he doesn't want the church off his back, there is absolutely no reason for him to enter the war

"My wish? I want to be separated from this box" Michael points at Pandora which has refused to separate more than 5 meters away from him ever since he got it.

"That thing has kept you alive for all this time you know? It would be a waste just to give it up"

"Well... I guess its a matter of human pride"

"Pride as a human?"

"Hmm... how can I explain... Lets just say I lived beyond my allotted time here on earth. Sooner or later, I will die and when I meet Saint Peter, I want to be judged as a human, not some abomination" Michael said which was met by silence.

Arcueid admired Michael for his maturity despite his young age of 59. As an immortal being, she simply didst understand the meaning of an honorable death but the aura that Michael gives off made her a bit envious for some reason.

"You sound like an old man" Arcuied said as she giggles

"I hate to repeat myself but I _AM_ an old man. Enough about me, I doubt that you came here just to chat. So? What do you want from me?"Michael said with a serious face

Arcueid look at him with a surprised face. She racks her brain for the reason of looking for him.

_She forgot..._ Michael thought as Arcueid dove deeper into thought. A few seconds later she claps her hands as she remembers her reason

"You forgot about it a bit didn't you..."

"No I did not! I just temporarily couldn't recall it"

"That's the same thing"

"WHATEVER!" She said as she threw her hands in the air "Anyways, since you're joining the war, I want you to protect a couple of people for me. Their names are Emiya Kurou and Emiya Hana. I owed their ancestors a bit so this is payback"

"Sure I'm fine with- wait... did you just say Emiya? If you did then they are enemy masters, so I cant make any promises"

"You only need to kill their servant. If it cant be helped, you might as well beat them within an inch of their life if you have to. Just make sure that they don't die"

"Man, beating their servant without killing their master? If that's the case, I'm going to need a very strong servant"

"I really would like to help you but if the werewolves discovers that I'm favoring someone, they might go after me all at once. I may be strong but the thought of dealing with one werewolf is disheartening, dealing with all of them is just plain crazy"

With no catalyst to work with and an unfamiliar battleground, surviving is going to be a chore. Surviving while protecting someone is pure lunacy in every way.

"Consider it as a last request from your sister" Arcueid suddenly adds. Michael stops his thought process in shock

"What do you mean by _last?_"

"I've been active for too long you know? I'm going to get some well deserved sleep for all my hard work" She said in a laid back manner but Michael knew what it meant.

_Active for too long_ means her inversion impulse has become too great for her to suppress. _Sleep_ means she needs to put herself into eternal sleep or become an insane blood sucking monster. The thought of not seeing his crazy older sister depresses him greatly as it reminds him that he is now truly alone. He hides his depression to give his sister some peace of mind

"Well, I guess I can do that. Just give me some details on what they look like and a I'll do what I can" He said with the best smile he could muster.

Arcueid also sensed his depression but decided to ignore it. Letting out their true feelings will make saying good bye unbearably painful. She gives him the some out dated information she has about the Emiya siblings

The 23 year old clan leader, Emiya Kurou has spiky red hair, dark blue eyes, muscular build with high magic ability and specializes in projection. Though a bit hot headed, he is known as a calculating man and is not to be underestimated. He is most likely the one who is going to participate as a master in the war

His 22 year old sister, Emiya Hana has shoulder length black hair, light brown eyes, slim figure and wears glasses. Though she has high magic ability, her abilities is a few levels below Kurou. She inherited and specializes on Jewel Magic and Gandr shooting though is capable of low level projection. She gives off a strict teacher aura but is easily angered no matter how cool she tries to act. Normally acts as a support for her brother and is unlikely to participate as a master in the war

The Emiya's servant is Arthuria Pendragon of the SABER class. She is relatively well known as she has participated in all 5 wars of Apocrypha and the winner of the 1st one. She is considered one of the strongest servants in the war thanks to her Excalibur though her stats change depending on the master. She is also considered as one of the strongest SABER in history.

"So... Think you can handle it?" Arcueid asks teasingly at Michael who was deep in thought

"*Sigh* They have one of the strongest servant in history while I got nothing. Its a bit of a handicap but I'll find a way so don't worry about it and get some sleep"

"I see" Arcueid then stands and begins to walk away "I'm glad that I have a reliable brother. The war will begin in 1 year, don't be late okay?" she said as she waves at him

"Don't worry, I wont be late" Michael waves back

"See ya!"

Michael watches her back fade into the night. He has just lost one of the few people he can freely talk to which causes his heart to ache a bit. He lies down on the ground and drifts into a dreamless sleep.

With a responsibility from one of the most important person in his life on his shoulders, the tired old man steels his will once more.

* * *

><p>1 year later. Beijing, China. 10 AM<p>

Michael walks the desolated streets of the once bustling metropolis of Beijing though now commonly known as Apocrypha, the City of War. Everywhere he looked, the scars of war was ever present. The only thing good about the outer part of Apocrypha was the plants that has regained some of its territory amidst the urban jungle.

He heads straight into the heart of the city until he sees a massive creator about 300 feet deep and at least 3 kilometers in diameter. It was said that in the middle of the creator once stood an ancient marvel called "The Forbidden City". The records from the church said that holes such as this one was a result of a weapon used by the old civilization. It seems science easily outstripped magic in terms of pure power but the price was their ruin.

The buildings near the hole are all in working order as if it was a separate dimension from the destruction of the outer part of Apocrypha. It was a festive city 1 km around the hole complete with noisy merchants, children and the rare automobile. Amongst the crowd were people that gave off a completely different aura obviously out of place in this peaceful setting.

All of them were moving towards a large cathedral just outside the hole which seems to be the starting point of the war.

_Good. I'm not late. I'll never hear the end of it from Arcueid if I lost my chance due to tardiness_ Michael thought as he follows suit.

Michael was surprised on what he saw upon entering the cathedral. The interior is one large room that has enough space for at least 1000 to sit comfortably and attend mass. Though the design and architecture was noteworthy, that is not the surprising part. The surprising part is the sea of people occupying the the space. There are more than 1000 people present and all of them posses the smell of blood. Most of them silently sizing up their future opponents while a minority are talking loudly as if confident of their chances of survival.

A massive presence approaches that takes everyone's attention and the ground shakes with each step it takes. A few seconds later a being 20 foot tall covered in brown fur and radiates an aura of awe, respect, fear and dread enters from the side of the altar. It radiates mana that causes most of the people in the room to stop breathing for a second from shock as this is the first time they ever saw the war machines of Gaea.

_So this is an Original Werewolf. It is terrifying as advertised_ Though not word per word, it is the thought that passed through the minds of all that were present.

**"Oh... Everyone is already settled... I always wanted to say Settle down everyone but humans are such humble creatures... sad.."** said a voice that seemingly sent straight to everyone's brain. Though slightly surprised, most of the people didn't lose their composure and calmly listen to the giant.

**"I am Nene, female, single and... well, I lost count after I hit 1500 so I dont know how old I am but I am the youngest of the Original Werewolves. I am also the supervisor and organizer of the 6th Holy Grail War in Apocrypha and... Well, that's it. Normally, us supervisors need to give a speech at the start... buuuuut its too tiresome so I'll go ahead with the important stuff. So, first up is the prelims. Make sure to listen coz I hate repeating myself!"** Nene said in a laid back manner but of course, none dared to reprimand her lack of seriousness.

**"Well... Its actually pretty simple... Just summon a servant... That's it!"** said Nene which was met by the gaze of more than thousand doubtful eyes  
><strong>"Wahahaha! Humans are so smart! I love it! The answer is YES by the way. Its not as simple as it seems. Not everyone has what it takes to enter this bloodbath you know? It doesn't matter how strong you are or how much nobility your bloodline is, if the grail thinks you are worthy to wield it, it will choose you. If not, sucks to be you."<strong> Nene said.

All of the people in the room were confident that they will be chosen thus none raised any complaints.

**"Next on the important list is... Ah right.. The maximum number of masters competing for the Holy Grail is 1000. All wanna be masters can only summon their servants at 11:59 pm to 12:00 mn and not second earlier or later. "** Nene was met with a silence of confusion " **Your probably wondering is there such small time frame for summoning... Well, its because those who could summon first would be able to take action first thus an unfair advantage. Its only fair that everyone should start at the same time right? So my suggestion is to draw your summoning circle in a hidden place a few minutes before the 11:59 pm because after 12 midnight, its all out war regardless of your situation."** Many of the audience nods in agreement. All of them know that servants ASSASSIN or ARCHER would have an unfair advantage in information gathering and assassination if they were able to be summoned first

**"So, if you have a catalyst for summoning and know what your summoning, good for you. If you don't, you have to rely on lady luck in any hopes of getting a half decent servant... And that is the second purpose of the 1 minute summoning window. This will give the masters with no catalysts the time to familiarize with their servants while those with catalysts are searching for their targets."** Nene continues. Once again majority of the audience nods in agreement. Just like Michael, majority of them are gamblers who does not have the financial flexibility to get a relic of a powerful servant.

**"Next up are Non-Combat Zones or NCZs for short. These zones normally consists of market places, alchemists, carpenters, hospitals, inhabitants of the city... you know, the usual stuff. When servants enter these zones, any attempt to use mana exceeding the mana required for them to exist will cause a backlash 3x the mana used... In short, your sevants cant use any above human level abilites. They cannot enter the zones if they are in combat. Any servant made attack regardless of stength that came from the outside will be canceled out upon hitting the boundery field surrounding the town. Got it? They are called Non-Combat Zones for a reason"** Nene said.

The audience tried to think of any way to abuse the power of the boundary field but Nene grabbed their attention once again

"**HEY! I know what you are thinking but the penalty for misbehaving Masters are much worse than the servants. The moment anyone of you tries to do something stupid within the NCZs, I will personally chase you down and kill you, your allies, your servants, your friends and even your cat! Even if you exit the NCZs, hide in whatever hole that you can find, I can easily find you and kill you!"** Nene said with fury, overwhelming her audience with so much blood lust that some of them peed their pants out of fear. Noticing her fury, Nene calms her down as quickly as she can before she accidentally kills someone. She takes a deep breath and returned to her upbeat self

"***sigh* That was close... I was about to start killing people... teehee"** She said in a cute manner but none of the audience found it cute as they were a few seconds away from death if she lost it.** "Anyways back to the NCZs. The city around the hole is the business hub where you can find some lands for lease that you could turn into fortresses or alchemic materials from all over the globe. But most importantly, the city is the only place where you can buy food. The money changer outside will take any currency and trade it for credits which are saved on your command spell just like those credit cards of the old world" **The crowd no was no longer silent this time as a large majority erupted in protest

"**Wahahaha! That was exactly the reaction I was looking for! Anyways settle down people settle down"** She said and after a couple of seconds, the crowd calms down. **"I know that most of you don't have much or any money at all but dont fear as there are a few remedies that can solve that. The locals outside or on the settlement NCZs outside the city might have a couple of jobs that will give you some credits. Another way to get credits is through the events that I will organize. It could vary from peaceful treasure hunting to a violent battle against demons depending on my mood. If your not the helpful type then there is one other solution, kill another master. By killing another master, you will get 80% of his/her net worth which includes credits, real estates, etc. So as you can see, being rich doesn't equate to being secure coz once other masters know your rich, they will hunt you down in waves"** Nene said as she laughs out loud but the atmosphere of the audience changed. Majority of the crowd started marking rich looking people as their priority targets. The rich looking people who were noisily talking earlier grew cautious as they felt the eyes of many predators on them.

"**Wahahaha! Getting heated up I see! One last important note before we end this meeting: Once the war begins, the entire 17470 square kilometer land area of Apocrypha will be sealed preventing anyone from entering or exiting the battleground. The only way to exit is either to win the War or somehow survive until someone does win because if you die here, you stay here, kapish?"** She said as the audience looks back at her. All of them had the looks of soldiers readying to charge into the fray. Devoid of fear, pity or remorse but each possesses one thing in common, childish excitement.

**"I, Nene of the Original Werewolves, Declare the start of the preliminaries of the Holy Grail War of Apocrypha! Go forth warriors of fate, destroy what stands in your way and prove that you are the one that will wield the Holy Grail!"** Nene said. Her audience roars in response as if answering to a battle cry. They turn and head for the exists as quickly as they can for the first few hours of the war is crucial to their pride and survival.

* * *

><p>11:50 pm<p>

Michael was sitting a few kilometers before the Petrified Forest near northern border of Apocrypha after walking non-stop for a few hours. The rules and regulations seminar by Nene the Werewolf only lasted less than 30 minutes thus the potential masters rushed out of the cathedral to look for a safe summoning spot. Michael figured that most people would stick close to the main city for whatever reason thus the places farthest from the city are the safest.

He put some strain into his eyes to activate the Pure Eyes and viewed his surroundings. North, South, East, West and everything in between shows no sign of human life but he did spot a few rabbits somewhere in his south.

_A man has to eat, with or without money... sorry in advance rabbits_ He apologizes mentally to his would be dinner

He looks at his summoning circle made of his own blood to check for any flaws in the design and found none. This is his one and only chance thus there is no room for error... but he is not naive. Age and experience has taught him to suppress emotions and think logically thus even with his great determination to win the Holy Grail, he cant help but expect the worst at the very get go. Without a catalyst to work with, the odds of summoning a weak heroic spirit from either ASSASSIN or BERSERKER class is about 85-90%. He would be ever so grateful if he is lucky enough to summon a RIDER or LANCER... even CASTER would be a godsend. The SABER class is close to impossible to attain. At the very least, he was free of any corruption from the box at the moment which may increase his chances... emphasis on the MAY because he isn't sure if the lack of it will contribute at all.

On another note, he was truly impressed of the designers of the war. When Nene said no summoning before 11:59pm, she really meant it. No matter how much prana Michael poured into the summoning circle, it would not activate at all. From the looks of it, someone is blocking the ritual while allowing any other spellcraft to continue uninterrupted. It takes a Magus of godlike abilities to pull off something like that.

The magic circle suddenly becomes active, surprising Michael. He knows that no matter his circumstances, it is now or never so he performs a tried and tested yet proven to be unreliable charm for success. He closes his eyes and recites a short prayer in his mind.

_God, if I am not in your grace, may you put me there. If I am in your grace, may you keep me there_ He prayed. This is the one habit that he has done for years even though it has proven itself unreliable but he cant help it, he has nothing else to believe on. He points his open hand to the circle and begins the incantation.

_Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill_

_Repeat 5 times_

_But when each is filled,destroy it_

_Head my words_

_My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny_

_If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason,_

_then answer me!_

_I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world_

_That I shall defeat all the evil in the world_

_You, Seven Heavens, shrouded by the three great words of power_

_Come forth from the circle of inhibition_

_Guardian of the Scales!_

His right hand violently explodes in pain forcing him to kneel. He was expecting a bit of pain from the command spell burning it self onto his hand but he did not expect the pain of his flesh blowing up from the inside. He checks his hand and sees that it was covered in spiky scales which means that Pandora activated to aid in his summoning. As much as he appreciates the gesture, he at least wanted to finish the war as humanly as possible.

Once again, pain shoots through his hand but this time, it was considerably less painful. He looks at the back of his hand and finds his command spell. It was a big diamond, in it is a circle and within the circle is a cross. This is the proof that he isn't one of the unlucky slobs who cant summon a servant.

_Speaking of servants..._ He thinks and turns his attention to the summoning circle which surprised him greatly.

A violent torrent of prana swirls in front of him and after a second, it dies down and reveals a sight more dazzling than anything he has ever seen. The girl standing in the middle of the circle radiated an aura of awe as if she was beauty personified.

She is 5'2" with dark blue eyes and waist long blond braided ponytail hair. She wears a silver headband looking armor where the arrow looking part in the middle covers her forehead. She sports a silver choker on her neck, a black mantelet over her shoulders and dark blue cloathing beneath it. Her arms, abdomen and upper thigh are covered with silver armor. She wears a long dark blue skirt that doesnt cover her right leg. She wears cutoff black legging with silver armor to the legs and black shoes underneath it.

Michael was still speechless from awe. He quickly reviews the reaction of the summoning circle earlier in his head. It was too violent for an ASSASSIN yet too subtle for a BERSERKER, so it means that the card he has drawn was either LANCER, ARCHER, RIDER or CASTER. However... the girl in front of him is wearing armor suited for a knight... which can only mean...

"I, Servant SABER, have come forth in response to your summons. I ask of you. Are you my master?" The girl said in a young but dignified voice as if to confirm his thought.


	2. Midnight Carnival

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not own Fate Apocrypha and its related servants. It all belongs to Type Moon

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><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

Im not sure if the last part of this chapter is necessary but I added it anyway for additional info

There is only 1 main character in this story. The rest are side stories dedicated to a few of my favorite creations and a certain ARCHER that I find adorable

Enjoy

* * *

><p>Midnight Carnival<p>

-Audience-

Nene sits at the top of a tower that is obviously not man made. It is 5 kilometers tall with its base residing at the middle of a hole just a 30 kilometers Northeast from the busy city of Apocrypha. This is also the place where a very important item that many will fight and die for, The Holy Grail.

The masters that occupy the north acts smart. By abusing the large land area of the north, they hid themselves in places that will take large amounts of effort to find. They are conserving their energy for the long battle that is about to come.

The masters of the east also acts with sense. The east is filled with mansions and fortresses where the insanely rich people are hidding. They have formed alliances to protect their assets and themselves from the common masses. They are also resting for the coming battle.

The southern masters also wanted to rest like the masters in the north and east but an exceedingly powerful servant has been summoning weird starfish-octopus-squid looking monsters to no end. All of the southern masters are fightning their way out of the city. None of them wants to deal with the endless wave of monsters

On the other hand the masters of the west are the perfect example of the word idiot. Most of them are children who cant help but show off their new toy. A large number of battles have already begun and its only been 10 minutes since the summoning time. The few sane masters of the west are fighting their way out of the metropolis in hopes of finding a safe heaven elsewhere.

All in all, Nene is satisfied with how lively the war is. The only one who isnt enjoying the festivities is Nene herself.

_I wish someone would try to steal the grail... then maybe I'll have some fun. Unfortunately, Lobo killed all the morons during the 1st war_ Nene thought to herself

The 1st Apocryphan Holy Grail War was also the shortest war in Apocryhan history. 482 foolish masters thought that teaming up against a Werewolf was enough to take the Grail without much bloodshed.

How wrong they were.

Not one of the original 482 survived the 10 minute battle against Lobo.

Another 100+ masters tried to sneak their way to the grail but no one can escape the tracking abilities of the Werewolves. It goes without saying that they also died a pathetic one side death.

The remaining masters were smart enough to follow the rules and the end result was one of them was crowned the winner of the war.

Her name was 77 year old Emiya Aoi with a very simple wish of bringing back her husband from the grave. Of course, her wish only lasted until her death but that was good enough for her.

Nene found it romantic and hopes that the winner of her war is also someone like that.

"Ah... So this is were you are Nene" Said a woman as she enters through the trapdoor. She had brown hair, dark brown eyes with a motherly looking face. She wore blue robe and white headdress

**"CASTER? Wazup?" **Nene asks

"I was just making sure that you were behaving" She said as she takes her position beside her

**"I may be a little mischievous but I do follow the rules of Gaia, you know?"**

CASTER giggles at her words "I know, I know. You're a good girl with too much energy to spare"

**"Wow... putting it softly huh. Normally, people would call me a pain in the backside"**

"I'm not like most people" CASTER said as she smiles at Nene. She then turns her attention towards the view below. "What are you watching Nene?"

**"Oh... Just the humans doing their thing."**

"I don't understand... How could you find enjoyment in watching people kill each other?" CASTER said. In her kind face, the look of sadness can be seen.

**"Don't know... At least I find it cool to see a man bet everything he has for the sake of his goals. Since I don't die, I cant really do that"** Nene replied with a hint of jealousy in her _voice_

"I'll never understand" CASTER said

**"Well, you can stop them if you wanted to. You are the strongest servant here. Not to mention that you have me as a master" **Nene said. This words are ment to test CASTER's commitment to her pact with the world. If she fails, then Nene would use her command spell to make CASTER kill herself... though that might not work as planned. Nene doubts that even she can beat CASTER in a one on one duel

Werewolves lack any magical talent thus they require to make a pact with a very powerful servant to manipulate the leylines of the battleground. The servant must have godlike abilities to seal the entire 17470 square kilometer battleground and manipulate everything within it. It also important that the servant has absolutely no intention of using the Grail for his/her own benefit. That is the reason why Nene is testing CASTER on her loyalty

"... No... I promised Gaia that I will only manage the war, not partake in it" CASTER said with conviction but the face of sadness is still present. "I dislike violence in any form thus I disapprove of this pointless war. But a promise is a promise and I tend to keep my promises"

**"You sure? It is the Holy Grail you know. It can grant any wish you desire... well at least if it doesn't harm Gaia in anyway"** Nene said.

CASTER remains silent for a second then answers in a soft voice.

"My son has already saved the world from sin and my true self is in heaven with him. What else could I possibly ask?"

**"World Peace?"**

"That would be taking away the free wills of the people. That is not part of Gods plan. He wills it that humans have the right to choose between good and evil. I am handmaid of the Lord thus it is only proper that his will be done"

"**Wahahaha! Suite yourself!" **Nene laughs in joy.

"Very well then. Don't stay up too long Nene" CASTER said as she heads back down the tower

"**Good night Mary**" Nene yells after CASTER

Her servant has passed the test to be the moderator of the grail. Now she can enjoy the madness of the midnight carnival without regrets

* * *

><p>-Northern Sanctuary-<p>

It was a clear cloudless night and thanks to that, Michael did not need to use his pure eyes to scan the surroundings. He looks around and sees not a soul for kilometers, giving him some well deserved R&R. He looks impatiently at his 2 rabbits being cooked over the fire causing his stomach to complain loudly. He has not eaten all day and add the fatigue of walking out here plus the summoning ritual, he is surprised he is even conscious.

"Master, if you are alright with medium rare then it is now fit for consumption. If not then another 30 seconds is needed for it to be well done" said SABER as she cuts the rabbit to check its insides

"Well... Since I'm so hungry, I'll take it right now" Michael said. SABER passes him the rabbit and begins eating.

Surprisingly, the SABER he summoned 10 minutes ago is very skilled in cooking, not what he expected from the most outstanding servant class in the war. Catching the rabbits was easy enough but when he started skinning the rabbit, SABER scolded him for doing it so horribly and took it upon herself to do it. After seeing her do it, Michael concluded that his style of skinning was indeed horrible. She then insisted on reusing the skin of the rabbits as a bag which displays her resource management abilities.

After eating Michael stares at SABER with a serious face.

SABER stiffens up and stands in attention as she assumes that her master was trying to size her up. Though she is a SABER, her true abilities might be inferior compared to others. Putting into consideration that she died at the age of 19 and her lack of training, her martial abilities are not developed as majority of the heroes. She becomes nervous of what her masters criticism might be but decides to steel her emotions and take it without flinching.

The next words that her master said was not exactly what she had in mind

"Hmm... You make a good wife. I bet the man that married you during your life time was a very happy man" Michael said with a serious face

"Huh?... No... I... But... er..." SABER said in a desperate attempt to form words. The sudden attack on her female side caught her off guard. "I... never... got... married..." She said in a voice that was getting smaller with every word. Unable to hide her embarrassment, she simply bowed her head and played with her thumbs

"Would you like to?"

"Yes..." SABER answers in a very small voice "I mean NO!.. I mean... This is not the important issue right now!" She quickly said in desperate attempt to change the subject

_Hero or not, adolescent girls are all the same _Michael thought as he watched in amusement

"And what is the important issue?" Michael said in an teasing manner

SABER quickly thinks of any excuse just get out of her unfavorable situation. She considers the words that her master has used during their conversation and found another topic that they could discuss.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" SABER said. She prefers to avoid this topic as long as possible but it cant be helped.

"Well... I did perform the summoning ritual without a catalyst so no. I have no idea who you are" Michael said. "Now that we're at it, who are you?"

SABER shifts uneasily

"Master... If that is your command... then..." SABER said. Her actions obviously show reluctance at answering his question.

"Oh no no no. I am ASKING not COMMANDING you. If you don't want to answer then its fine. I don't like forcing people anyway" Michael replies.

SABER lets out a sigh in relief

"But why though? Why keep your identity a secret? Can you at least give me the reason?" Michael inquires further

"Well... I was labeled ... something not nice during my time and died as such..." SABER replies vaguely

_Ha! No wonder I summoned you. We're the same_ Michael thought as he unconsciously grips Pandora's Box

"B-b-but I promise you I will do my best! Even without knowing my name, I swear to God that I will lead you to victory! I wont even ask you to share the grail with me! So please master..." SABER said desperately. She clasps her hand as if she was praying for her master to understand

Of course, Michael understands her completely. She probably was labeled unfairly by those above her and died pathetically while many scorned her. He even has a few secrets that he isn't willing to share to SABER thus has no right to force her.

"You seem to misunderstand our contract SABER" Michael said in a soft grandfatherly voice

"Huh?"

"You are not my servant. You are my partner. Both of us have equal rights to everything we do. I could probably force you to tell me against your will but that isnt how it goes in a partnership. I believe that sooner or later, you will tell me your identity of your own free will but until then, I shall inquire no further" Michael finishes his speech

It was obvious in SABER's face that she was not only relieved but also thankful that her master was understanding

Michael stretches out his right hand for a handshake.

"Its a bit late for introductions but whatever. I am Michael Angelo, nice to meet you SABER" Michael said with a smile

SABER takes his hand and shakes it

"I am SABER. Please to make your acquaintance Master Michael" She said with a smile.

The smile was so pure, so innocent, so beautiful that a diamond would pale to compare. At least, that's what Michael thought.

_Well... at least I have a very beautiful girl by my side regardless of how this war will end. _Michael thought as they share a brief moment of silence while shaking hands

* * *

><p>30 minutes later<p>

SABER stands guard ever vigilant for any signs of movement. The cloudless night and the full moon makes it easier for her to view the environment. On top of that, master Michael Angelo chose a vast plain as far from the city as possible as his summoning ground thus she can see clearly for kilometers. On the downside, their position can easily be spotted due to the vast plain

_I hope we don't meet an ARCHER right now_ SABER thought. A mass destruction Noble Phantasm at long range will instantly kill her master.

Her master sleeps soundly on the ground near the now extinct fire. Judging from his Bishop robes, he is a high ranking member of the church but due to a distinct aura that all warriors have, she doubts that he is the type of person who reads the bible in a church.

_Looks can be deceiving_ She thought

Speaking of deceiving looks, Master Michael constantly displays wisdom well above his years. Through visual confirmation, SABER estimates his age around 25-29 years old yet his general attitude reminds her of a kind and loving grandfather.

_Fighting for him might not be so bad_ SABER thought as she went back to her vigilant watch.

* * *

><p>-Western Riot-<p>

West of Apocrypha's main city lies an urban jungle of ruined buildings and streets. Within that graveyard of technology, anarchy and chaos spreads like wild fire. Most of the people of the west are fools who went wild just because they got a bit of power. The sane masters evacuated as fast as they can from the west to save energy and to prevent exposure of their servant's abilities.

38 year old Doglas Frenzin is one of those masters who decided to avoid an all out war with everyone else. The main reason for his cowardly actions is his servant.

His servant was a beautiful 5'5" Chinese female with straight shoulder length black hair and empty black eyes. She wears a long sleeve one piece white cheongsam ending in a mini skirt, long black socks and white Chinese shoes. But her beauty was not the issue but her attitude, or lack of it. She seems to lack any free will much like a doll that doesn't move without the will of the puppeteer. Since she doesn't talk, Doglas has no clue on her identity, class and abilities thus he decided to hide for a while. While she does follow most of his commands, she refuses to go into spirit form no matter how many times he commands her.

They got out of the western battleground in 30 minutes without any resistance thru the sewers. It was stinky and disgusting to the point that it was unbearable but that is exactly why he chose it as an exit route.

Just when Doglas thought that lady luck was finally on his side, he met the worst person he could possibly meet in this circumstances. The future heir of the most powerful clan in the world, 21 year old Ernest Von Einsburn.

Doglas wanted to talk his way out of the battle but Ernest did not even wait for a second and commanded his servant to attack

"LANCER, kill them" Ernest said arrogantly to his servant. A massive 6'7" warrior dressed in bronze armor appeared behind him.

"About damn time!" LANCER said. He readies his spear and charges at them with reckless abadon.

_Damn it! Of all the times!_ Doglas thought to himself as he readies to run at the opposite direction.

"=-=-===-=-=!" A female roar stops him at his tracks. It came from his servant who charged to meet LANCER unarmed.

_She's a BERSERKER?_ Doglas thought. _There were rumors that if the Mad Enhancement is at a very high rank, the servant becomes more mechanical. Is that what happened to her?_

The next few seconds made him realize that lady luck was definitely on his side this time around.

LANCER thrusts his spear at BERSERKER's head with every intention to impale her but does not go according to plan. She redirects the spear with her left arm and counters with a right punch aimed at LANCER's humerus on the right arm. A disturbing sound of breaking bones was heard even by the masters who are at least 10 feet away from the battle.

This caught LANCER by surprise. His armor should have blocked any attacks B rank or less yet an unarmed strike broke through it like it was toilet paper. LANCER backs away to buy a bit of time as his regeneration to kick in but BERSERKER does not let up her assault. She throws flurry of blows focusing on the broken arm, shoulders, chest and head even before LANCER can even retreat. Though the blows are considerably weaker than the arm breaking counter, the large number forces LANCER to go defensive.

He takes out a large round shield and hides behind it... but soon realized that it was a mistake. BERSERKER simply sidestepped to the left to abuse his still healing right arm and threw a violent straight punch to his face causing him to stagger. She then continued her endless barrage of punches while LANCER desperately tried to defend himself

The audience watched the battle in awe and disbelief.

Doglas thought that BERSERKER stood no chance against LANCER but how wrong he was. As a fist fighter, she was in disadvantage in terms of range but she only needs to go into extreme close range where a spear's range is useless to turn the tide. On the downside, she lacked the firepower to mangel LANCER thus this battle is a stalemate.

On the other hand, Ernest is visibly frustrated. He thought that no one can beat the greatest trojan warrior in a melee scenario and he was right on that one. The problem is that LANCER cant beat BERSERKER who is significantly faster than he is. The initial cripling blow to LANCER has set the tide of the battle in BERSERKERs favor but due to LANCER's high speed regeneration and high endurance, no one will win this battle.

At least that is what it looks like.

The high speed regeneration of LANCER actually comes at the expense of high mana drain. Like all modified children of the Einsburn, Ernest has mana reserves equal to 50 veteran magi. He estimates that if they fight for 2 days straight without any outside interruptions, LANCER will deplete his mana pool thus lose.

30 seconds into the battle, LANCER keeps his defense up until his right arm heals while BERSERKER beats his body into a bloody pulp. In a desperate attempt to gain some distance, LANCER bashes BERSERKER with his shield, sending her flying 5 feet back. He hurls his spear at her with blinding speed, which was simply dodged by BERSERKER. LANCER draws a bronze sword and closes the distance with a violent downward slash. BERSERKER once again redirects the blow with her left hand but receives a gash on her upper left arm. The blow creates a 2 meter hole on the ground beside her

But this is a necessary sacrifice for her counter attack.

LANCER is at a crouching position with his blade on the ground. He soon realizes his mistake and quickly pulls back but it was too late.

BERSERKER throws an open palm strike at his neck, crushing the windpipe. Her fingers dig into his neck with vicegrip force. Using LANCER's chest as a springboard, she launches herself 10 meters back, taking his throat with her. A fountain of blood gushes from the open wound, a simple sign that the battle was over.

But that was not the case. LANCER's regenerative power is now at its peak unlike earlier much to the frustration of Doglas. Muscles, tissues and veins grew back at abnormal speed and at that rate, it wouldn't take 10 seconds to heal the wound completely

On the other hand, BERSERKER was in a bit of a disadvantage. Her left bicep is damaged and unlike LANCER, her ability to heal is vastly inferior. It takes about 30 seconds to manually heal the wound she received and a lot of things could happen in 30 seconds.

However, Doglas has complete confidence at her abilities despite the handicap based on what he seen. As long as LANCER doesnt go after him, BERSERKER will simply run around until her left arm heals.

BERSERKER begins to run to LANCER before his wound is completely healed despite the clear disadvantage.

"BERSERKER, Stop!" Doglas commanded.

BERSERKER instantly skids into a stop but does not relax her stance. Doglas turns his attention to Ernest

"How about we postpone this battle for another time Lord Ernest von Einsburn?"

"Hoo... You know my name plebian?" Ernest replies with clear hostility. He took the stop command to BERSERKER as an insult to his pride. Its as if his enemy decided to hold back on him out of pity. He finds this infuriatng.

"Who doesn't? The Einsburn are world famous for creating the basic structure of the holy grail. Even Gaia ended up copying the Fuyuki Grail War"

"So what?... You think flattery will get you out of this situation?"

"No I don't. But I was hoping that reason would be enough to convince you to spare me" Doglas said. He is carefully choosing his words to make sure that he doesnt provoke the short tempered Einsburn. The ass kissing seems to work as he noticed a change of mood in Ernest. Though still very hostile, the young Einsburn is in a listening mood.

"Reason huh... It better be good or I might reconsider letting you talk"

"Very well. As you may know, the masters in this area are idiotic and blood thirsty. If we keep fighting in this venue, sooner or later, someone will either interupt or ambush the exhausted winner. I assume you understand where my speech is going, correct?" Doglas explains.

Ernest ponders for a bit and was convinced. As much as he dislikes being manipulated, the reasoning of his enemy was logical and sound.

"Fine... I guess I can let you live a little longer. We will settle this at a later date. Go before I change my mind"

"You have my thanks Lord Einsburn" He said while bowing like a gentleman. "Lets go BERSERKER"

BERSERKER relaxes her guard and follows her master.

Doglas Frenzin calmly walked away with absolutely no intention of ever meeting Ernest von Einsburn again.

* * *

><p>An hour later<p>

Ernest has been screaming insult after insult at LANCER's incompetence for 5 minutes now. A draw to him means that he is equal to the inferior masters, thus he is also inferior. The damage to his pride is so great that he needs an outlet for all his unjust anger.

LANCER's patience is close to the breaking point from all the nagging. He has been silent for the past 5 minutes but that all ends now.

"SHUT UP! Your like a bitch on her period!"

"Says the self proclaimed STRONGEST! You cant even beat a unarmed girl! You should be ashamed at yourself!"

"Ashamed? You have no idea!"

"I do have an idea! I am the strongest master in this war and yet you dare shame me? You worthle-" Ernest was cut of with a blade near his neck

"Watch your words weakling... I might accidentally kill you" LANCER said in a cold manner. He didn't even bother hiding his killing intent.

"Y-y-y-y-you wouldn't dare! You need a master to exist in this world! If you kill me, your gone!" Ernest replies. He is obviously threatened by LANCER's blade. He lived a sheltered life and never came close to dying, until now

"Yes... I do need a master... It does not have to be you. With the overwhelming number of masters in this place, it will be easy to find another one. Besides, the legend of the Trojan warrior Achilles is widely known. No fool would turn down a contract with me." LANCER said with ever growing hostility. "The next time you open your mouth, you will die"

The threat is so genuine that Ernest shuts up instantly. He was scared out of his mind to the point that he doesn't even realize that he just wet himself.

LANCER then ignores his master and begins to ponder on his situation.

His only desire in this war is to fight, nothing more. He has already fought and gained immortality a long time ago thus if he is going to fight under someone, it must be someone with a worthy cause. It does not matter how weak his master is, if he can fight for something worth while, then he has no regrets.

Though exceedingly powerful, his master is as annoying and egotistic as Agamemnon. The moment LANCER knew his true self, it was the moment that marked his death. Ernest is a spoiled brat who wants something because he doesnt have it, very similar to Agamemnon. Ernest will die in this war, either by his hands or by someone else. Once he is dead, LANCER will only have 24 hours before he disappears from the world, thus he must make preperations.

On another note, he has already figured out BERSERKER's true identity. In her fighting style, LANCER noticed a mixture of Wu Mei Pai, Wing Chun Kuen, Dragon style, White Crane, and Five-Pattern Hung Kuen, all of them are at a masters level. There is only one person who has mastered all 5 of them... and that is the founder of all of those 5 styles, one of the legendary 5 elders of southern Chinese kung fu, Ng Mui.

It was truly bad luck in LANCER's part for meeting such a monster at his very first battle. He is confident that any servant that focuses on melee combat will not win against her. The best way to defeat her is to blow her away with a mass destruction noble phantasm from long range, something he does not have.

_Well... Its a horrible start but I cant wait for the next battle_ LANCER thought with optimism as he stares at the dawn that is to come.

* * *

><p>-Southern Escape-<p>

28 year old Pepper Mint is a woman of many dislikes. For one, she dislikes her name which was cruelly given to her by her whimsical mother just because it sounded cute. She dislikes her 5' height and her youthful appearance because she is constantly mistaken as a 15 year old girl. Finally, she dislikes being treated like a sack of potatoes like what ARCHER is doing to her right now but the situation calls for it.

ARCHER is carrying Pepper over her shoulders as she navigates through the tight alleys of the southern battleground. Like all the other masters of the south, they are in a rush to leave the city.

10 minutes after the summoning period, hordes of starfish looking monsters were summoned and began attacking anyone in sight. Individually, no servant will lose to them, even the ASSASSIN class can rip them apart with little effort. Unfortunately, the numbers that was summoned is abnormally large and every time one of the monsters dies, another one instantly takes it place.

After a few minutes of battling the endless horde, all of the masters decided to simply evacuate rather than fight a battle of attrition. Truth be told, some of the servants within the south can turn 1/4 of the city into a parking lot if they wanted to, but they decided against it in an attempt to hide their servants abilities.

_*sigh* Too bad ARCHER isn't one of those overpowered servants_ Pepper thought. She takes a quick peak at her beautiful servant who was running as fast as possible to stay ahead of the horde.

The 5'4" tall ARCHER wore leg high boots, green themed short skirt dress, blackish gold chest plate, clawed iron gaulent on the right hand and clawed iron glove on the left hand. She sports a waist long hair which was mostly light brown aside for the light green nearest to her face and pure white at the back. Most importantly, positioned at the top of her head lies what seems to be animal ears of some sort.

_Seriously...Are this things legit?_ Pepper thought. Out of pure curiosity, she gently strokes the ears just to see if they are real.

She soon realizes that this was a horrible mistake. ARCHER focused on enjoying the stroking sensation and completely forgot her surroundings and the fact that she is running on high speeds. A second later, she and her master slams into a brick wall like flies into a windshield.

Pepper pulls herself together and faces ARCHER

"YOU STUPID GIRL! Why in gods name did you crash into a wall?" Pepper screams at ARCHER much like a mother screaming at her child's idiotic actions

"Please forgive this ones action. This one believes that thy unnecessary gesture of kindess was too distracting." Said ARCHER in a bored emotionless voice

"So its my fault?"

"Yes... this one believes so"

Pepper was about to give ARCHER a piece of her mind but was interrupted by the sounds of the enemy horde.

_They are slow as hell so we should be fine... but their numbers are just messed up! They are practically everywhere!_ Pepper thought to herself. She turned to ARCHER who was also tense

"Lets go ARCHER"

"This one agrees" ARCHER said. She quickly picked up her master in a princess carry and dashed onward. She followed Pepper's directions and heads northward towards the highway where it is a straight line towards the NCZ. The tight maze-like alleys has served them well by blocking majority of the monsters but ARCHER cant move at her top speed.

After a few minutes of running, they enter an alley and 10 meters beyond that is the highway. Unfortunately, 6 monsters stands between them and their escape route, causing ARCHER to stop.

"Prepare thy self master" ARCHER said to her master

"Huh? What do you -" Pepper began to ask but was not able to finish. "UNNNNNYYYYYYYYAAAAAAA!" She screamed at the top of her lungs after finding out that ARCHER has already hurled her 20 feet in the air towards the highway.

_IM GOING TO RIP YOUR EARS OUT ARCHER!_ She screams in her head

The 5 monsters in front charges at ARCHER while the one in the back chases after Pepper.

ARCHER estimates that she has 5 seconds before her master hits the floor.

_Plenty of time_ ARCHER thought to herself.

She takes out her long bow and quickly fires at the one that chased after Pepper, instantly killing it. Out of nowhere, 6 arrows are shot at the 5 remaining monsters, 4 instantly died while the last one was able to block using its tentacles. She shoots another arrow at the surviving monster, effectively crippling it. Once again, 6 arrows appear out of nowhere, but this time all of them are shot at the surviving monster causing it to die.

ARCHER notices that her master is only 6 meters away from the ground. She readies herself and with a burst of mana, she dashes 10 meters on a straight line towards her master. She catches Pepper less than a second later as she was about to hit the ground. She slows down and stops as they enter the highway. She places her master down and checks her well being

"Art thou unharmed master?" ARCHER asks

"YOU ST-" Pepper vomits before she could even complete her sentence.

Though still keeping a straight face, ARCHER rubs Pepper's back with great concern.

"Art thou unwell master?" ARCHER asks again. Pepper eventually stops vomiting. She recovers herself and looks at ARCHER with eyes filled with rage

"YOU STUPID GIRL! HOW DARE YOU THROW YOUR MASTER?" Pepper roars in a very loud voice contrary to her petite body.

"Thou art loud. This one is relieved" ARCHER said. She then dodges a stone that Pepper threw at her

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT! You didn't even warn me!"

"This one did warn you. This one said "Prepare thyself Master""

"Da hell! You didn't even let me prepare myself! Us normal humans die from being thrown like that!"

"Hm... Humans are so fragile"

"SHUT IT! I'll drill some common sense into your head right now!" Pepper then began a scolding that seems to have no end in sight.

ARCHER simply stands there and watches her master. Not one word has enter her head for the past 10 seconds.

_Master reminds this one of a dog playfully barking at thy owner_ ARCHER thinks to herself. Unable to resist herself, she pats her masters head

"There there" ARCHER said as she strokes her master's head. Pepper did not like this one bit

"STOP STROKING MY HEAD!"

Pepper continues to yell at ARCHER until they finally noticed the presence of countless monsters making their way towards the pair.

"Master, this one suggest that the premises must be vacated" ARCHER said. She kneels down and urges Pepper to ride on piggyback

"Ugh... This makes me look like a weak younger sister... Well, the situation demands it so what the hell." Pepper said as she boards ARCHER.

"Prepare thy self Master" ARCHER once again warns Pepper

"Huh? Wha-" Once again, Pepper is cut off before completing her sentence "UNNNNNNNNNYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She desperately grabs onto ARCHER's shoulders. ARCHER accelerates from 0 to 300 in 4 seconds flat and heads straight for the NCZ, leaving the monsters to eat her dust

* * *

><p>Midnight Carnival<p>

End

* * *

><p><em><strong>SERVANT COMPENDIUM<br>**_

**Servant: CASTER** (Mary of Nazareth)

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: X  
>Endurance: X<br>Agility: X  
>Magic: X<br>Luck: X

Weapon: None

Skills:

**Territory Creation- EX**

CASTER's territory covers the entire 17470 battle ground and can control everything in it

Noble Phantasms:

**The Holy Rosary- EX**

This item grants caster 2 distinct abilities that work regardless of her fighting ability

**- Divine Favor**

If she desires it, God will force any law (even nature) to abide with her will. This ranges from turning water into wine to killing a dragon with nothing but a sewing needle. If she wants to hit a fast moving object with a stone, it will happen regardless if she aims at the opposite direction. She can create a city out of nothing and can also destroy a city with nothing.

**- Divine Protection**

God prioritizes her safety over her will thus CASTER is immune to everything. PERIOD

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: LANCER<strong> (Achilles)

Alignment: Neutral

Personality:

Strength: A  
>Endurance: EX<br>Agility: D  
>Magic: A<br>Luck: E

Weapon: Spear, Sword, War Chariot

Skills:

**Master of War- B**

Achilles has high compatibility with 3 classes (SABER, LANCER and BERSERKER) while a moderate compatibility with RIDER (he dragged Hector's corpse on a chariot). This ability allows Achilles to recieve all of the class skills of the classes that he is compatible with, namely Magic Resistance- B (SABER, LANCER and RIDER), Riding- A(RIDER and SABER) and Mad Enhancement-B (BERSERKER, stat bonus only). Due to his compatability with the RIDER class, Achilles can summon the chariot that he used to drag Hector which is a B rank NP

Noble Phantasms:

**Blessing of the river Styx- B**

This ability allows LANCER to regenerate any wound regardless of how severe it is. It takes 30 seconds to heal sword wounds, 1 minute for each severed limbs and head, 8 hours for the entire body in an even that he is completely obliterated as long as his master has the prana to support it

**Armor of Achilles- B**

A special type of armor that blocks attacks of B rank and bellow

**Shield of Achilles- B**

An energy shield that comprises of 9 powerful boundery fields compressed into a small space that allows LANCER to block any attack regardless of how strong it is but can only block 1 EX attack per minute for it needs to recreate the 9 boundery fields. It can block 5 A rank attacks before shattering, 10 B ranks, 15 C ranks and will not shatter from D rank attacks and below.

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: BERSERKER<strong>- (Ng Mui of the 5 elders)

Alignment: Neutral Mad

Weapon: none

Strength: C

Endurance: B

Agility: B

Magic: E

Luck: B

**SKILLS**

**Enternal Arms Mastership- A+**

Mastership of combat arts has reached the point of being said to be unrivaled in one's era. By complete merging of mind, body and technique, it is possible to make use of full fighting skills even when under the influence of any sort of mental hindrance.

**Chinesse Martial Arts- A+++**

At this point, one is master among masters.

**Chyuhn and The Eight Character of True Essence- A+**

These two techniques are the main theories behind the White Crane fighting style which BERSERKER is a master and a founder. Chyuhn is to completely destroy vital points in the body while The Eight Character of True Essence is to strike at the points where there is a pulse in other words, strike at the arteries. BERSERKER uses Chi to smash into the opponents arteries which temporarily shuts down that part of the body. This only lasts at most 5 seconds to enemy servants since they are beings above human comprehension but a normal person would suffer permanent disability.

**Chi Sao of the Spring Chant- A+**

As the sole founder of Wing Chun, BERSERKER promotes to feel thru in combat. Chi Sao is to instinctively find the point of least resistance. Her attacks will always go thru any armor though it would be reduced by 1 rank depending on the armor itself.

**Wu Mei Pai- A+**

A combination of two mental states from Wing Chun and White Crane in order to achieve the perfect counter attack. Softness of Wing Chun allows BERSERKER to defend from an attack with minimum energy exerted while attacking at the same time which allows the opponent to expect resistance and find none thus pulled into extreme close range. At the point of attacking, Wing Chun changes to the White Crane which aims to either mangle or destroy the attacking force in that small opening with the maximum amount of force. This ensures BERSERKER an A+ rank physical damage in countering.

**Quigong-A**

Though it is the bare bone basics of all martial arts, masters of this simple breathing technique is capable of doing near imposible things with chi. It allows her to strengthen her attacks, speed and endurance by supporting it with chi in all of her movements. Her limbs can block attacks with B rank without taking any damage.

**NOBLE PHANTASM:**

NONE


	3. EMIYA

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not own Fate Apocrypha and its related servants. It all belongs to Type Moon

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

**IMPORTANT NOTE: April 2, 2012. This chapter has been rewritten. No particular change in the story, just changed the identity of the mysterious servant  
><strong>

1. I DID MY RESEARCH. I cannot put enough emphasis on that one. This is mostly related to a certain bounded field that is closer to magecraft than an actual NP. In other words, Magic Resistance works on it.

2. This chapter has the largest word count yet coz I wanted it to be epic. Im not sure if its an epic win or an epic fail but I put more thought on this one than the previous chapters. Sorry in advance coz the chapter is a bit wordy

3. This chapter underwent 3 large rewrites from its initial state so I might have missed changing something. If anyone spots lines that doesn't make sense, please PM me.

4. Avalon is not there coz its messed up OP

5. Enjoy

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 3 - EMIYA<p>

-Light and Darkness-

4:00 AM

Michael silently walks back towards the NCZ at the heart of Apocrypha. His breakfast was lively for the first time in years thanks to SABER's presence

Now that I think about it... it was probably the first good night sleep I had in 3 decades. He thinks to himself. But now is not the time to think about that. There are some important things that need my attention. He begins planning in his head

SABER floats in spirit form beside her master when she notices his serious face. She assumes that he is planning their future campaigns thus she lets him think for a while. After a few minutes, her curiosity gets the better of her.

_"Master, have you came up with a battle plan?"_ SABER asks with a voice that only Michael can hear. Once again, her master answers defy her expectations

"Huh? Battle Plan?" Michael answers

_"Err... You were thinking of a battle plan... were you?"_

"... I was thinking of getting some work in the NCZs..."

_"... Why?"_

"I want to rent a room at least... I haven't slept in a soft bed for years now. Now that we are in that subject, I haven't taken a hot bath for god knows how long. Now that I know the NCZ's are absolutely safe, I'm going to abuse it"

_"... Not to gather information?"_

"...Well... There is that too..."

_" You didn't even consider it?"_ SABER flares up.

Using all of his 60 years of wisdom, Michael instantly comes up with a convincing lie

"It's not like I didn't think about it, its just that the servant I summoned is above and beyond my expectations. With that in mind, I need to change my battle plan but that takes time. I'll use that time to get some money and info at the same time"

_"A change of battle plan? What do you mean?"_ SABER said in a meek voice.

She seems to be weak to flattery... good Michael thinks to himself.

"Remember SABER, I have no catalyst to work with. Common sense dictates that I have a 99% chance of getting a minor hero on a mediocre class." Michael explains. "Putting my fighting style into consideration, I assumed that I would summon ASSASSIN"

_"Fighting Style? ASSASSIN? Does that mean that you're an assassin?"_ SABER asks, obviously uneasy of this information. Knights are straight forward and let skill decide match. If she is forced to fight like an assassin, then there might be some complications in the future

"Well, yeah. Humans are weak you know"

_"That's not an excuse. Fighting with pride and honor is better than being cowardly"_

"For example, a human fights with Pride and Honor against... let's say, a vampire who is superior to the human in every possible way. The result is so obvious that's its funny. At least he will take his Pride and Honor with him to the grave HAHAHAHA" Michael remarks in a sarcastic manner

Though unseen, SABER grits her teeth in anger

"Are you mad SABER?"

_"... No"_

"Don't lie. This wouldn't be a partnership if you don't speak your mind"

_"... Yes, I am very mad"_

"Why?"

_"You insulted the way of a knight! It's my way of life! You have no right to insult something you don't know!"_ SABER said loudly.

"Now you understand what I felt when you insulted my way of life. A life that a knight would not know" Michael said in a calm manner which surprises SABER

SABER silence herself in shock.

_"It is true... I don't know what it means to fight against something that I can't beat head on... How arrogant of me..."_ SABER guiltily thinks to herself.

Michael can guess what SABER is thinking so he silences himself. 30 minutes of silence passes until SABER breaks it.

_"... sorry"_ SABER says in a very weak voice

"Hm... Not used to saying sorry huh"

_"Yes... I hate to admit it but I spoke hypocritically. I will accept any punishment"_

Michael laughs at SABER's unnecessary seriousness. It seems that SABER is a counter balance to the laid back Michael much to his enjoyment.

"That's what partnership is about SABER. There are times where our opinions may clash but in the end, we teach each other. One day, I might actually fight with pride and honor but that day will only come if you teach me how"

_"Gladly... And when the time an opponent I can't beat comes, I would appreciate your advice"_

After resolving a slight problem in their young partnership, the duo continues on to the NCZ.

-:-

11:00 AM

Finding a job in Apocrypha was surprisingly easy.

Michael was able to find a job that is not only high paying but also very easy. After only 4 failed attempts due to his lack of the necessary skills, he was able to get a job as a waiter in a high class restaurant named Silvermoon somewhere in the east side of the city.

SABER seemed to dislike the fact that Michael is the only one working thus she insisted on taking a job at the same establishment. Using the name Anne and disguising herself using Michael's over sized clothes, she applied and was accepted as an assistant cook because of her skills.

The high class establishments have tons of vacancies but the problem is the lack of interested applicants. Masters seemed to dislike being servants to others thus there is a high demand for people who has the patience for the job. Thanks to the high demand, the salary is abnormally high for a waiter and cook

"100 credits per day? Are you guys insane?" Michael accidentally raises his voice in shock

"Wow... loud. Anyways, no we are not insane. We will pay you and Anne 100 credits per day that you work here" Said Jibs.

Jibs is a stout old man who owns the restaurant. Despite his 5' frame, he displays an aura of authority 10 times his size. It seems that his relaxed voice carries so much weight that anyone will be forced to listen to him.

Michael calms himself down from his sudden outburst. He knew that the demand for workers is high, but the salary is abnormal. A decent room in the city rents up to 200 credits per month so all they need to do is work a day to get it. It sets off a lot of alarms in his mind because if it's too good to be true, it usually is.

"I know that look. You're thinking that it's too good to be true, correct?" Jibs suddenly cut of his thought process. Michael simply nodded in response. "Thought so... It means that you are underestimating what HIGH DEMAND means in Apocrypha"

"But seriously... Can you even afford to pay that much for a part timer?"

"Hm... You two look like decent people so I'll tell you a secret" Jibs said as he draws a bit closer to them. "Truth be told, all of the produce in Apocrypha are grown in one of the NCZ's up north so it's cheap and easy to transport. On the other hand, the food is prepared slightly better than most while the costumer doesn't mind paying an overpriced fee. Anyways, you'll find that this job has more perks aside from the high salary."

Jibs gives them a set of uniform then gets them to work almost immediately.

A few hours into the job, Michael finally understands what Jibs meant as other perks of the job.

The customers are composed of people who don't mind spending 200 to 1000 credits on so little food that Michael considers it a form of highway robbery. It goes without mentioning that all of them are masters and potential targets. Digging up information on them normally takes weeks of stalking but thanks to the boasting of their power, Michael's job just got easier. They also traded rumors about the current events of the war which he noted with interest.

* * *

><p>9:00 PM<p>

Michael walks alone thru a dark alley within the bustling city of Apocrypha. SABER returned to her spirit form after work to lessen the burden on her master. Michael didn't mind the burden but SABER insisted on it.

"Despite his looks, Jibs is a very nice guy"

"_Indeed. Even though we only worked for half a day, he gave us 100 credits each. I wish there were more people like him_" SABER said in a joyful voice.

"So? How was it like to work in a place like that?"

SABER joyfully recounts her experience with a noisy yet highly skilled staff, the beautiful arrangement of food and the new dishes she has learned.

So she really is like any other adolescent girl Michael thought to himself. He lets SABER recount all of her experience as they keep heading north.

Michael decided to camp outside the city for a few important reasons.

First and for most, all of the apartments are closed at this time thus the search for a good room to rent will have to wait for tomorrow.

Second, this city is actually the perfect battle ground for people like Michael, which is a bad thing. According to the rules, there will be no fighting within the NCZ's which will probably cause a lot of masters to lower their guard, but an assassin like Michael knows hundreds of ways around that rule. Since there is no magecraft allowed in the city, more subtle tools such as poisons and accidents will be used to kill others without raising suspicions. Theft is also an effective tactic to reduce the overall performance of masters. Since servants can't generate any killing force without using mana, the can only watch their master die without doing anything. In short, the threats in the NCZ's are not the servants, but the master themselves.

SABER debated with him a bit but he was able convince her by stating that those underhanded tactics are exactly what he plans to do.

Third and probably the most important reason of all, he wants to test his servant's capabilities even if he has to force her to fight. He decided to respect her privacy but that doesn't help his curiosity one bit. If he wants to win the war, he needs to know all the capabilities of his servant so that he can plan around her strengths and avoid her weaknesses. Of course, there is a certain risk to his plan but he rather do it now while the other masters are also in more or less the same position as he is. Any longer than one day would be disadvantageous.

Michael did not tell SABER about the third reason mainly due to the amount of mistrust it implies.

"_By the way master, did you find the PERK OF THE JOB that Jibs told you about?"_

"As a matter of fact, yes. The customers are all loud mouth masters so info was extremely easy to get." Michael then shared the important info he gathered with SABER

Info 1: A powerful servant has take over the southern battleground by summoning limitless amounts of tentacle monsters. The western masters decided to leave it to the goody two shoes masters to do something about it.

Though he couldn't see it, he sensed SABER shifted uncomfortably.

"Someone you know SABER?"

_"He... might be... someone I know... probably... but it could be someone else"_

"Ho... Your Lover?"

_"NO! HE IS NOT MY LOVER!"_

"Wow... no need to shout... anyways, at least a name-"

_"I DONT KNOW HIM!"_

"This could be important info-"

_'"DROP IT! NEXT INFORMATION! NOW!"_ SABER said with a fury that even scared the ever calm Michael.

But of course, it is a juicy info that might reveal who his servant is.

Note to self: Meet with the tentacle summoner in the future He thought to himself

Info 2: Avoid Jasmine Gayver of the East. PERIOD.

_"... Isn't that a weird info?"_

"Yeah it is. From what I heard, Ms. Gayver is a petite 19 year old girl who was able to form and lead an alliance with 20 or so masters."

_"That cant be right... the war is barely an day old. How could she get so much support so quickly?_"

"No clue... my guess is she used her looks"

_"This is a war for the holy grail. No one is stupid enough to sacrifice their wish for a love in first sight"_

"Oh... you misunderstand SABER. She used her looks is a slang in my line of work. It means that she used some sort of charm magic on the other masters. It must one powerful charm magic if she caught 20+ people in just a few hours. I bet her servant has something to do with it, which leads me to believe that its a CASTER"

_"I see... That makes sense then... but how did you arrive in that conclusion?"_

"During my time in the Burial Agency, I was normally sent to kill Succubus because of my high resistance to their charm spells."

_"I see. So how do you intend to locate her? We don't even know what she looks like"_

"The moment I feel the pressure of a charm spell then we will know. On to the last info"

Info 3: The Emiya clan is acting like Interpol... again

_"Hmm... What is this "Interpol"?"_

"It stands for International Police which used to exist about 800 years ago. They punish criminals just like normal law enforcers but their jurisdiction covers most of the world"

_"But why is it such a big deal? A clan that punishes evil doers is a good thing"_

"This is war SABER and being a goody two shoes in war is hypocritical. Killing is already a crime against humanity"

_"Surely to go to war for a good cause makes killing just"_

"Is it just to kill another person who also has a just cause?" Michael said which causes SABER to go silent for a few seconds

_"Does that mean that you're a hypocrite too?"_

"No it does not. I accepted that I am not a man of justice, but a man of greed. I fight this war for my own personal gain, just like most people here. I will not coax it with the excuse of JUSTICE or FOR THE GREATER GOOD"

Once again, SABER is silenced as her master's words hit her where it hurts. Her wars in the past was one to liberate her people, a just cause for sure. But her enemies might have just causes that pushed them to risk their lives in those senseless 100 years of war. Did she have the right to trample on the cause of others?

Before their discussion could continue, they suddenly heard someone crying

"*sob* *sob*" A voice that belonged to a young girl was heard amidst the silence.

Michael's pulse quickens, his hands clenched and his senses sharpened. His breathing becomes shallow and his sweat glands produce more than the usual amount. To sum it all in a few words, he is terrified.

_"Calm down, Michael. You've experienced worst situations than a run in with a ghost, nothing to worry. Your're not an exorcist but you can sure hell kill a ghost right? It would be uncool if SABER notices so calm down as fast as you can"_ Michael assures himself.

Unfortunately, such display of weakness is not something SABER would not notice.

_"Master, what's wrong?"_ She asked teasingly

"N-n-nothing SABER, I was just surprised that's all" Michael said but he knew that it was unconvincing

_"Ho... ho ho ho... Don't tell me... My ever calm master is afraid ... of ghosts?"_ SABER instantly goes on the attack. Ever since the beginning of their partnership, she has always been dragged into his pace. This is revenge of sorts

"I said it was-" Michael said but was silenced by the ghostly crying.

_"HAHAHAHAHA! By the gods in heaven! This is hilarious!"_ If SABER was in physical form, she would be rolling on the floor.

Michael keeps silent while SABER laughed like crazy. His pride is already damaged, any excuse would only make his grave even deeper. Instead, he begins to devise a counter plan for his predicament. First and foremost, he activates his pure eyes and begins to look for the source of the voice. While looking he begins to execute his second plan of attack.

"Hm... I think I want to meet that tentacle summoning servant."

_"Eh?"_ The simple statement is enough to force SABER into silence. _"Why?"_

"Well... hmm... It's just a sudden whim you know? Your lover might be an interesting guy"

_"HE IS NOT MY LOVER! This has nothing to do with that guy!"_

"That's why I was thinking of meeting the guy. To clear up this matter" Michael said sarcastically

_"NO! ... Fine! I'm not going to tease you about your fear of ghost okay?"_

"Whatever do you mean? That guy has nothing to do with your teasing"

_"I promise I won't tease you anymore! Please!"_ SABER now begs in desperation. She was not exactly looking forward to meeting THAT person right now.

"Found her..." Michael said. He stares at a blank wall... or at least that is what it looks like from a spectator. In truth, his vision has penetrated the wall and spotted a young girl 2 alleys away from them.

_"Huh? Who did you find?"_ SABER asked. The sudden deviation from their conversation confuses her. She looks at her master and was shocked to see that his eyes has changed color. _"Master? What happened to your eyes?"_

"Why? What does it look like?"

_"Its purple with a bit of red and blue rings"_

"Ho... thats what it looks like huh... I never saw it myself since the colors I see with this eyes are black and white" Michael said. He continues to explain as they walk towards the source of the voice "It's called Pure Eyes, an ability that is passed down genetically through my bloodline. The ability of the Pure Eyes vary from person to person, in my case it allows me to see what already exists"

_"See what already exists? I don't understand"_

"I don't get it completely either but I'll do my best to explain. My eye stops the recognizing complex things such as color, contrast, brightness, details, etc. and amplify my ability to "SEE". At first, it was just like looking at a colorless sketch but with a bit of practice, I began to see through walls, magnify my vision and see invisible objects such as air and prana. To sum it up, as long as it exists, I can see it"

_"Wow... thats impressive... Wait, if you can see prana then-"_

They reach their destination, a dark and empty alley.

"I can see invisible servants"

He walks towards and empty stoop, knelled before it and said

"Is there something wrong young lady?"

The empty space was suddenly occupied by a beautiful girl who was sitting in fetal position. She is roughly 5'4" in height, sporting ivory white skin, light blue eyes, light blue shoulder length hair . She wears hooded bluish-purple robe similar to a witch that would be seen in a fairy tale.

She looks up at Michael and tries to hide her crying face.

"Ah…*sniff* I'm terribly sorry for my uncouth display. That bastard dare hit my beautiful face *sob* how dare he make ME cry!*hic*" She said to Michael with eyes full of tears

"Calm down and tell me what happened. Maybe I can help"

"That bastard of a master *sniff* of mine hit me and called me useless *sob* when I couldn't kill any servants. *sob* It's not like I *sniff* can help it! They were too strong! *hic* Now he told me that I can't come back *sniff* until I kill someone? *Sob* I can't believe a man made me cry *sob* damn it!"

SABER is obviously uneasy with the hooded servant. She was about to warn her master but was already too late.

_"MASTER DONT!"_ She screamed.

Knowing full well that he might lose his arm, Michael extended his left arm and pats the head of the white girl.

The hooded girl flinched in surprise at the sudden gesture of kindness.

"I'm sorry. I would like to do more, but this is the only way I can comfort you" Michael said in a calm fatherly manner while he rubs her head. On the inside, Michael is far from calm

_"Please don't cut off my arm"_ Michael repeated the phrase in his mind like a prayer.

Unable to hold back her tears, the hooded girl rushes into his chest and began to cry uncontrollably.

Michael lets her do what she wants until she calms down.

On the other hand, SABER simply watches in awe. It was like her master was letting a tiger playfully bite his arm. It is dangerous and incredibly stupid yet he is doing it perfectly.

The hooded girl eventually calms down after a minute or so of crying.

"Do you feel better now?" Michael asks the hooded girl

"Yes" She said while still has her face buried in his chest.

"This might not be much but I'll give this to you" Michael said. He takes out a piece of candy and gives it to her. "If you ever have problems, you can always talk to me."

"Not the best way to impress a lady but thanks." She said with an embarrassed smile. She suddenly stiffens up and turns her head towards the forest outside the NCZ. "That damn bastard is calling me…" She said clearly lacking the joy she had a second ago. She faces Michael again "You're nice and cute for a priest. Can I meet you again?"

"Sure, come-" He begins to say but was cut off. The girl smiled one last time before she runs towards her master, not waiting for his reply.

Michael then leans on the wall and lets out a sigh of relief

"Thank god..." Michael said.

SABER understands Michael's relief. A mentally unstable person is already hard to deal with, add the fact that she was a servant takes the level of danger to astronomical levels. The fact that her master was able to control the situation was impressive enough. But once again, the next words that came out of her master's mouth defy her expectations.

"... she wasn't a ghost" Michael continues

*Silence*

_"YOU WERE WORRIED ABOUT THAT?_" SABER erupts

"Holy crap! Don't scream" Michael replies

_"You risk your life just to make sure that she wasn't a ghost? Why in god's name shouldn't I scream?"_

"Calm down SABER, I'm safe right? So-"

_"SILENCE! As your partner, it is my duty to drill some common sense into that skull of yours!"_ SABER roared. From that point until they reached their camping site, SABER scolded Michael nonstop.

* * *

><p>-The Dance of Wind and Fire-<p>

Next Day- 6:00 AM

The night passed without any incident, much to Michael's dismay. The lack of any information on his servant is worrying, but he understands that she has secrets that she rather not reveal. He was hoping that someone would be bold enough to ambush them, but no one came.

Michael occupies is mind with different ways to gauge his servant while they head back to the NCZ.

_"Master, please don't pass through there"_ SABER interrupts his thought process

"Huh?... Why?" Michael asks as he stops walking

_"It is dangerous in there"_

"How did you know?"

_"... I... I'm not really sure... I just know"_

They were just about to pass through a large apartment complex with an open air park in the middle of it. The only exists was the one he was about to pass through and another one straight ahead.

"Hm... Concrete prison with only two exits, tons of places to hide... A perfect kill zone if I ever saw one. Good work SABER, but I'm curious of our would be assassins" Michael activates his pure eyes and views the interior of the building.

_"Did you spot any people Master?"_

"Yeah... 3 people on the ground floor and 1 guy with a bow on the 3rd floor" Michael said. He felt the tension that SABER was giving off at the news of a guy with a bow. "Don't misunderstand SABER, that guy is not an ARCHER servant, just a regular guy with a bow"

SABER sighs in relief but quickly becomes confused of the situation

_"No servant? They expect to take down a servant-master pair with abysmal force? Are they suicidal?"_

Michael comes up with a possible scenario for their would be ambushers.

"Hmm... My guess is, they are those people who were not chosen to be masters. This is probably their idea of stealing a servant"

_"But still... They expect a mere arrow will be enough? If so then they are clearly out of their mind"_

"I think that arrow is poison or something. Something strong that will cripple the master in one shot thus forcing the servant to bargain for the master's safety"

_"I see... We should go around then"_

"No. We spring the trap" Michael said as he begins to walk towards the trap

_"Why? There is no need to waste effort on weaklings like them!"_

"Better us who knows about it than an innocent master who knows nothing about it" Michael said "Do not materialize though. Bringing you out against these weaklings is overkill"

_"I see... It is very honorable of you master. Your will be done master"_ SABER said. She now believes that her master is an honorable man, he just doesn't like to show it.

Michael walks into the building and as expected, 2 large men and a woman met blocked his path.

"Well well well. Look at what we have here boys" Said the woman.

_"Master when I give the signal, jump back as fast as you can"_ SABER said. Michael nods in affirmation

"Looks like the grail will choose just about anyone these days! Shouldn't you go back and molest your altar boys?" Said the man at the left

_"NOW!"_

Michael jumps back and an arrow impales itself at his previous location. Without missing a beat, he takes out a black key and hurls with so much force and accuracy that even SABER was impressed. It impales the man on the 3rd right between the eyes, effectively killing him. In one fluid motion, he takes out the spear Elohim, dashes towards the man on the left of the girl and stabs him in the heart.

The other two moves away from him as fast as they can, but it was a wasted effort. Michael draws two more black keys and hurls them at the fleeing prey. The woman gets impaled in her left knee cap while the unlucky man gets it in the neck, killing him instantly.

This isn't a battle... it's a one sided massacre. Michael thought to himself. He was used to fighting against overwhelming odds, thus fighting against people weaker than him felt like killing a baby.

He takes out his spear from the man and makes his way to the girl. The girl turned pale as he approaches

"Please, don't kill me! They forced me to do it" She begs for mercy but it was a wasted effort. Michael draws even closer and points the spear at her

"Please! I swear I'll never do it again! Just let me go!" She desperately pleads to Michael

"If you're looking for mercy, you came to the wrong place" Michael impales her in the face

There was silence after that. Both of them knew that the girl was defenseless and Michael could have spared her. However, she will most likely perform the same actions as she has earlier if they let her go. SABER did not like what he has done, but she could not reprimand him, for it was necessary.

"You BASTARD!" said a voice which caught them by surprise

A muscular red haired man stood at the entrance that they went through. He was out of breath, as if he desperately tried to stop Michael from killing the girl.

"She was defenseless! There was no need to kill her!" He roared at them which was met by silence

_"Master, shouldn't we explain what happened?"_ SABER asked. She obviously didn't like the fact that they are being treated like criminals.

Michael covers his mouth to keep the man from hearing what he is about to say

"No, don't bother. Look at him, in his mind we are killers of the innocent. Ready yourself SABER, he looks like a master"

_"Understood"_ SABER said. Now that he mentions it, she can feel a very powerful servant lurking in spirit form.

"Explain yourself before I cut you down criminal!" The man demands an answer

"We're at war you hypocrite. Kill or be killed is the most basic rule in these lands." Michael calmly said

"You just killed an innocent-" The man roared but Michael cut him off

"What makes you think she was innocent?" Michael answered in a calm voice.

This silences the red head man.

"Ho... from the looks of it, you didn't see what happened earlier. Yet you dare assume that I killed an innocent bystander? Are you retarded?" Michael spoke sarcastically. Though this was a good opportunity to test out SABER's abilities, Michael has a bad feeling about the red head man. He was hoping that the man would realize his mistakes and leave.

But it was not meant to be.

A beautiful woman suddenly materializes beside the red head man. She is 5'1" with long blonde hair tied into a braided bun and green eyes. She wears a mid-age blue dress rode with silver armor to her arms, chest, and bottom of her dress. Her beauty was as divine as his SABER, unfortunately, so is her suffocatingly large power.

She stares at Michael with a clear intent to kill.

"Do not believe his words Master" She said to the red headed man."That priest reeks of blood. He must be eliminated before anymore innocent lives are harmed"

"Really? How did you know?" The red head man asked his servant

"I have my share experiences with evil priest in the past" She then points something at Michael "And you fit the bill"

_Is that... an Invisible Blade?_ Michael thought to himself_. The invisible blade that hides an all too famous holy sword... which means-_ It did not take him 3 seconds to work out the identity of the blue servant. _Arthuria Pendragon... DAMN IT!_

"Summon your servant, False Priest. I dislike killing those who can't defend themselves" Arthuria then grabs hold of her sword with two hands, showing her desire to fight.

He could not decide if Lady Luck is with him or against him. On the plus side, he found his target, Emiya Kurou, after just one day without any effort. Another plus is that he can finally gauge his servant's capabilities. On the minus side, the enemy servant is ranked as one of the strongest servants in the war. Can his SABER match up with probably the strongest of the SABER class?

As if to dispel his anxiety, SABER materializes beside him and points a silver sword at Arthuria.

"Punishment with no basis. You're just as bad as tyrants who commit genocide" SABER said to Arthuria

"There is a spear stabbed into a woman's face. What more proof do I need?"

"You did not even witnessed what happened earlier. My master is right. Good as you might be, you only see the world in black and white. You are a danger to the human race and must be eliminated" SABER replied.

She takes a stance similar to Arthuria. She moves her right leg forward, the sword is held with both hands but instead of pointing it towards Arthuria, she points it skywards while raising it slightly above her head.

Both swordswomen silently stare at each other as if sizing up her opponent. After a few seconds of intense stare down, SABER breaks the silence.

"*sigh* If we met in under different circumstances, I would have said that it is an honor to trade blows with a fellow knight" SABER said much to Artria's surprise

"Hahaha. It is still an honor despite our initial war of words. Well then, let us begin"

Silence was present once again but this time, it's as if the world is forced to silence from the tension between the two swordswomen.

A small sound of breaking glass was suddenly heard.

Both SABERs took this as a signal and charged at each other with reckless abadon

* * *

><p>The hooded haired girl flew happily over the desolate battleground.<p>

Her current master, Kim Jong Nuk is a powerful yet egotistic man who only cares for result. It goes without saying that her defeat against an enemy servant was not pleasing to him. Her husband hit her repeatedly with a walking stick before commanding her to go find and kill someone.

Much like a wife suddenly beaten by her beloved husband, the hooded girl broke down and cried. Physically, the damage done was nonexistent. Mentally, the fact that her husband considered her useless nearly drove her insane.

However, a single action brought her back from the brink of insanity. A simple pat in the head from an unknown man who showed her more kindness in a few minutes than her master ever did. The hug he willingly gave her was warm, so very warm. He even gave her a piece of candy, which she currently keeps within her robes.

However, the kindness that the priest displayed acted like a drug, it had good effects and bad effects. The good effect was that it kept her mental state stable. Even if her husband smacked her with the walking stick for the 2nd time, she did not go into extreme depression.

The bad effects are addiction and dependence. She wanted more... no, she_ needed_ more of the warmth and kindness that the priest man gave her unconditionally. Thus after being beaten by a walking stick by her husband, the black girl quickly searched for the priest. It has been 9 hours since their last meeting and she has spent 7 hours searching for him outside of the NCZ.

_Master hit me and told me that I'm useless again! The cute priest said that I can see him if I have any problems didn't he? I have a problem! I can see him!_ For 7 hours, this thought has been repeating in her mind.

Eventually, her search pays off as she caught glimpse of him entering an apartment complex. She wanted to talk to him as quickly as possible but he was busy with some minor insects. She positioned herself on the 5th floor of the building and watched his bug extermination with joy

_Wow... pretty good for a human_ She thought to herself.

She was about to glide down and talk to him but suddenly another man entered the scene. They talked a bit then the other man's servant appeared. She instinctively knew that if she tried to take the blue servant on, she would die in a heartbeat. Suddenly, the priest's servant appears as well. The hooded girl deduced that she is a bit inferior to the other servant, but still very powerful.

Killing intent spikes so greatly that she felt it on the 5th floor. She unconsciously takes a step back and breaks a small bit of glass on the floor. It was considered as a signal by the two servants as they charged at each other.

The hooded girl can do nothing but bide her time and wait for them to kill each other so that she can finally talk to the priest.

* * *

><p>A sound comparable to an explosion was heard as the two SABERs meet. SABER's downward slash was met by Arthuria's horizontal slash. The force of the collision was so strong that the pavement turned into rubble just from the aftershock alone.<p>

The two SABERs locked blades, both refusing to budge an inch to each other. Arthuria moves first as she tilts her blade, letting SABER's blade slide which puts her off balance and having her back exposed to Arthuria. Without missing a beat, Arthuria raises her blade and delivers a horizontal slash to her enemy's exposed neck.

_The end already?_ Arthuria thought as her victory was barely a milisecond away.

But SABER proved her wrong in the most absurd way. SABER lunges forward, letting the invisible blade pass an inch above her head. From her disadvantageous position she turns around and swings to the left which nearly chops Arturia's neck off. Arturia instinctively moves her head backwards and avoids the incoming blade with nothing more than a slight scratch on her neck.

Unfortunately, SABER still has her back exposed to Arthuria who did not let the chance pass. Arthuria aims a stab at SABER but once again, SABER performs an unrealistic block. Without looking back, SABER performs a sepuku like movement which perfectly meets the tip of Arthuria's blade. SABER then spins to the right and perfoms a samurai-like draw technique using Arthuria's stab for momentum. She slashes at Arthuria's head but her enemy dodge rolls to avoid the incoming blade. Arthuria quickly makes distance between them and notices that she was cut in the cheek.

SABER does not pursue her simply because it was obvious that her enemy is so much superior in sword fighting than she is. Her instinct was the only one that is keeping her alive at the moment. She knows that it differs greatly from her normal fighting style but she will take a defensive style for now and hope for the best.

On the other hand, Arthuria becomes cautious and refrained from going to an offensive. She could easily sense that something was wrong with their short encounter. She has experienced an opponent that could easily figure out the length of her blade but that samurai needed to cross swords with her a few times before he could guess the length of her sword. However, her current enemy not only dodges and parries it perfectly despite this is their first meeting, she also does it without even looking at it.

_Coincidence? No.. it's too much... It is as if she knows whats about to happen..._ Arthuria thinks to herself

Noticing her hesitation, SABER abandons her earlier decision and charges at Arthuria. She twirls on approach and throws a powerful horizontal slash which Arthuria parries. SABER follows up with a series of violent slashes that forces Arthuria to go defensive.

-:-

Kurou stands at awe at what is unfolding in front of him. Sure, the battle between two SABERs is a sight to behold, but what amazes him is that Arthuria Pendragon is being pushed back into a corner by an unknown SABER.

"Man... they sure are impressive" Said Michael

"Yeah... it just makes you think how awesome the Grail truly is" Kurou replies

"So true" Michael nods his in agreement

"But a battle between SABERs is so-" Kurou suddenly realizes that he was talking to someone. He jumps back and projects his favorite sword, Durandal. "When did you get there?" He said with his weapon pointing at Michael

"Hmm... I think I started to move when they clashed so... I got here when my SABER started cornering Arthuria" He said while taking a stance

"You know my servant?" Kurou said in shock

"Please... Practically anyone who entered this war knows about her. The winner of the 1st Apocrypha War and the long time partner of the Emiya Clan. The king of knights and the wielder of Excalibur, Arthuria Pendragon"

"Damn..."

"Thats what you get for sticking your nose into everyone's business" Michael said in a teasing tone. "Well anyways -" He blocks an incoming attack from Kurou

Kurou strikes again, not giving Michael any chance to talk. He has already labeled Michael an enemy thus anymore words are wasted. He aims another slash to chop his enemy in half but it does not go according to plan.

Michael thrusts his spear at the incoming sword and redirects to the left. At the same time, he swings the handle forward and smashes the opposite end of the spear into Kurou's left ear, effectively dazing him. Michael gives chase and swings his spear like a baseball bat at Kurou's ribs to knock the air out of him. Kurou guards his right rib despite being dazed and parries with all his might causing Michael to lose his balance. Kurou quickly follows up by hurling Durandal at his enemy which Michael evades with a dodge roll. Michael quickly recovers and takes a stance, readying himself for an incoming assault but none came. He sees Kurou dash towards the apartment complex at the expense of his weapon.

_Beating him down with killing him? When his that good?... A tall order as usual Arcueid-nee_ Michael complains to his nonexistent sister. He watches Kurou run and hide deep within the apartment, oblivious to Michael's pure eyes.

_Well then... let the hunt begin._ He thought to himself as he walks towards his target.

* * *

><p>SABER recklessly hack and slashes Arthuria in the hope ending it early but the superior servant has other things in mind.<p>

SABER performs a horizontal slash to the neck but Arthuria hammers the sword into the ground with a violent downward swing. Arthuria slides her sword up the silver blade and by using it as a spring board, she accelerates her invisible blade towards her opponent's head. SABER tilts her head backward, allowing the blade to miss her nose by a centimeter at the price of her balance. As she falls backward, she raises her right leg and kicks Arthuria in the gut with all her might which makes Arthuria stumble backward. SABER flies 5 meters the opposite direction and after a short roll on the floor, she stands up and readies a defensive stance.

Arthuria is annoyed with the flow of battle. Her enemy is inferior to her in terms of skill yet Arthuria is the only one getting hurt. Sure, the wounds she received are negligible but considering the vast difference in skill, she should not have received any at all. She decides to experiment a bit and charges at SABER.

The ground shakes as SABER blocks Arthuria's violent downward swing. Arthuria quickly slides her blade off the silver sword and follows through with a horizontal swing to the right gut but SABER barely avoids the blade by twirling to the right while moving backward. Her long braided ponytail whips around as she twirls which is the subject of Arthuria's experiment. Arthuria swings vertically with the intention of cutting the hair but SABER quickly dodgerolls away, pulling her hair out of the swords path. SABER puts 10 meters of distance between them and readies herself once again.

_That proves it... somehow, something is preventing her from being harmed. Not in the form of a shield but information. Something is REVEALING pieces of the future to her_ Arthuria thought to herself._ Well then... let's see if she can take this!_

A storm quickly expands from Arthuria's blade and without delay, Arthuria swings her sword diagonally

"STRIKE AIR!" Arthuria roars and a wall of wind rushes from her blade destroying the concrete as it goes.

Normally, people would try to lessen the damage and SABER would have done the same but a simple word appears in her mind that says otherwise.

_FORWARD_

SABER throws away all hesitation and charges straight towards her enemy. The wind that destroys everything in its path does not even slow SABER down as she charges through the tempest. The wind avoids SABER like a plague as if going more than 2 meters near her is a sin. She exits the tempest and throws a downward slash at her surprised enemy but is blocked. She wastes no time and wildly swings at her opponent before the initial shock wears off.

Arthuria desperately defends herself despite her confusion but fails miserably. SABER swings left and right with reckless abadon until one was strong enough to knock the invisible sword out of its defensive stance. Immediately after knocking the sword away, SABER thrusts her sword at Arthuria with no thought of where it lands. In this case, it impales Arthuria's right shoulder but SABER continues to push it until it is driven through the shoulder.

Out of desperation, Arthuria uses Strike Air to blow herself out of the predicament. She lands badly 10 feet way from SABER who was unaffected by the wind. Arthuria recovers herself while healing her wounds but SABER does not let up the pressure.

SABER does not move from her spot and thrusts her sword at Arthuria

"FIRE!" SABER roars. A small ball of fire shoots out of the tip of her blade, making the 10 meter distance insignificant.

Arthuria quickly dodgerolls and not a second too soon as the spot she was standing exploded in flames. A creator similar to what a howitzer cannon would make occupies where Arthuria was standing. Arthuria retreats even further which increases the distance between them to 20 meters. She uses the time to heal her wounds and think of what just happened.

SABER does not pursue her because of a bad feeling.

_What is this feeling... Maybe I should shoot another fireball at her... No... I should use La Pucelle carefully. Michael would laugh at me to no end if I burn myself out so early_ SABER decides to play it safe for now and waits for her opponent's next move.

_Invisible Air did not work? That can't be! I know it is not that strong but most servants would have some injuries!_ Arthuria panics at the event that has happened but it only lasts a second. She calms herself down and begins analyzing her opponent. _Despite her inferior skill, she has a powerful mix of defensive capabilities. An abnormal level of instinct and some sort of protection against my Invisible Air... then there is only one thing to do..._

A storm presents itself once again but this time it is accompanied by a small golden light. Layer after layer, the wind removes itself until a sword that glows in pure golden light shines brightly. Arthuria readies the golden sword by raising it just above her right shoulder.

SABER turns pale after seeing the sword. She knows exactly what THAT is... and knows exactly that she will NOT survive against it no matter how much she tries. She charges as fast as she can in hopes of stopping the sword.

But it is too late...

"EX-" Arthuria begins her swing... but suddenly stops. She looks up the 5th floor to her right with an expression of fear. "KUROU!" She yells as she dashes into the building, completely abandoning their battle.

_I'm saved..._ SABER sighs in relief then suddenly realizes that Michael is nowhere to be found. _DAMN IT! Please be safe Michael!_ she cursed to herself and dashed after Arthuria

* * *

><p>The battle inside the apartment was not as flashy or as awesome as the one outside but it was just as intense.<p>

Both masters were on the 4th floor and both are hiding behind some pillars. Both are starting to show signs of fatigue from the fast paced importantly, both masters are frustrated at the flow of battle between them.

On one side, Emiya Kurou is constantly in the defensive ever since the start of the battle. His opponent is superior to him in terms of combat logic, fighting style, physical condition and over all knowledge of the terrain. Every time he disengages from the battle and hides to rest, his opponent finds him instantly thus giving him no time to rest. The only advantage he has is his flexibility in the form of numerous weapons he can use thank to projection. The fake priest wields only a spear and seems to have no skill in magecraft which makes him one dimensional and predictable.

On the other hand, Michael Angelo can't go all out thanks to his promise with Arcuied. By adding the fact that Kurou is an exceptionally skilled fighter, Michael has his work cut out for him. If his enemy were someone else, he would use a few more of his weapons and a hell lot more of violence. Projection has also been a great obstacle in the battle. It opens up too many ways for Kurou to attack which is starting to take its toll. He has been lightly wounded 5 times thanks to the confusing attack pattern.

_*sigh* What a pain_. Michael thinks to himself while observing a flesh wound on his left arm. T_hose yin yang blades sure know how to catch someone off guard_. He recalls how Kurou deceived him by throwing away the yin yang swords and attacking him using a red spear. _The red spear was just a distraction while the real attack came from those boomerang swords... seriously, what a pain_

_Time to get a little serious._ Michael takes out the warmace ADIR from the Box and wields it using his left hand. He readies ELOHIM in his right and dashes to Kurou's location.

The battle of masters resumes.

Kurou hears him coming and projects Durandal to intercept. Michael swings ELOHIM like a club which was easily blocked by Kurou. Without missing a beat, Michael swings down ADIR at Durandal. Kurou was surprised at the existence of a second weapon but not as surprised at what was about to happen.

Durandal which is also called "The Peerless Sword" shatters with only one hit from the warmace ADIR. Kurou was surprised but Michael did not give him any time to let the shock set in. Michael uses ELOHIM and thrusts at the left shoulder but was barely dodge Kurou thus only grazing his shoulder. He pulls back the spear and launches a front kick, sending Kurou tumbling back. Kurou projects Kanshou and Bakuya to shield himself but Michael does not let up the attack. He swings ADIR at the defender and shatters Bakuya as it was the one in front. He thrusts Elohim through that small opening and was about to stab Kurou in the shoulder but both of them were suddenly blown off their feet.

A hurricane blows against the building causing cracks to appear on the entire structure. Michael smacks painfully into a wall while Kurou tumbles on the floor. Kurou takes the chance to run up the stairs. Michael stands up and checks what was happening outside

_Hm...So it did come from Arthuria._ He thought as he watches Arthuria being cornered by SABER_. But that's not what's impressive... The fact that SABER is unharmed is something else._ He turns his attention back to his prey that he can see thru the ceiling.

_That's it... Keep running, keep projecting and ADIR will keep breaking them_ Michael thought as he stalks his prey. Right now, he is using his anti-mage weapon combination which happens to be perfect against Projection type mages

ADIR is the 3rd clone of the original conceptual weapon that specializes in "Disruption". At impact, it causes a small distortion on a stable spell by planting foreign prana into it. It is not enough to actually destroy the spell but it distorts the spell enough for physical damage to slip through. Michael normally uses it on long lasting barrier type spells so that he can break through it.

_All I need right now is to stab him with ELOHIM and the battle is over._ Michael rushes up the stairs and throws a spear thrust through the door nearest to him.

Kurou was hiding behind that door in an ambush attempt but he was also expecting to be found instantly thus he was able to block the spear with a newly projected Bakuya. He counters with Kanshou to the head but it shatters upon meeting ADIR head on.

Michael quickly follows up with a wild spear thrust which lands in Kurou's right palm, the one that held Kanshou. Michael rams his shoulder into Kurou and pushes him to a wall. He exerts even more force on the spear to impale it into the wall.

"Whew... Finally, we can talk" Michael said as he relaxes

Of course, Kurou begs to differ. He reinforces his right hand to give him the strength to force the spear out of the wall.

PAIN

His arm suddenly feels like it exploding from the inside. Every magic circuit in his arm backfires causing every pain receptor in his body to overload. His spinal cord feels like it has a hot iron rod violently shoved into it. He cuts off any attempt to pump prana into his body which did the trick as the pain stops.

"I forgot to mention something about this spear. It is named ELOHIM, the 2nd clone of the conceptual weapon specializing in "Amplification". I know it doesn't sound that scary but trust me, it's a perfect weapon against mages. The blade of the spear causes any prana it touches to expand... The best way to describe it is like using gasoline to extinguish a fire... boom" Michael explains

Kurou is in a very unfavorable situation right now. Powering his way out using projection will cause a backlash in his circuits thanks to the spear. If he tries to physically move, his enemy will simply smash his bones with the war mace. Suddenly, he sees his savior behind his enemy

"So? Are you interested in tal-" Michael was saying when a black bullet passes his right ear and blows a fist size hole in the wall in front of him.

"Took you long enough Hana" Kurou said to girl

"Shut it! You should be thankful I placed that tracking gem in your skin! If not, I wouldn't have found you so quickly" Hana answered

Michael turns around and sees a beautiful bespectacled girl with short black hair. She wears a black suite and shoes which is normally worn by men. She is also breathing hard which means she ran as quickly as she can to get here

"Priest... or whatever your name is, release him or I blast you full of holes." Hana says Michael

A second ago, I was in the clear and a second later I'm in a bind. How unpredictable the battlefield is Michael laments on his misfortune. His goal still hasn't changed but it's getting harder to achieve.

"Can we talk about this?" Michael asks Hana

"5 seconds or I start shooting"

"Please be-"

"5"

"Calm -"

"4"

"Wai-"

"3"

Suddenly, Michael's face turns pale as if he seen a ghost

"NO! STOP!" Michael shouts with all his might

Both Hana and Kurou were confused by his sudden panic. Though Hana had every intention to turn the priest into Swiss cheese, she did intend to keep her promise of a 5 second grace period. But before she asked why the priest was in such a panic, her right shoulder explodes in pain. She collapses to the floor and too much blood gushes out from the small wound.

Standing over her was a hooded woman with light blue eyes and a very classy bluish-purple robe. In her hand was a blood stained jagged dagger, proof that it was used to stab Hana. She coldly looks at Hana much like how a child looks at a bug before stepping on it. Hana couldn't stop shaking in fear the girl's emotionless stare. The black girl then turns her attention to Michael with a look of seductive innocence.

"I can't kill her boy?" She asks Michael

"No, my lady. You are not allowed to kill her" Michael replied. He carefully chooses his words and the tone of his voice to make sure that the black doesn't do anything crazy. SABER has repeatedly warned him yesterday that the black girl is mentally unstable and he is inclined to trust such warnings

"Why? They wanted to hurt you so I should kill them"

"No no no. It's just a misunderstanding. I was looking for them to talk to them but they thought I was an enemy so they attacked"

"They attacked you?" The girl asks. She spots several wounds on Michael's body. Her killing intent spikes and directs it all at the terrified Hana.

"A-anyways, why are you here my lady?" Michael quickly distracts the black girl to save Hana.

The girl quickly falls for it and forgets about Hana, or at least she pretends to do so. She closes the gap between them and hugs Michael like a woman meeting her beloved.

"You said that I can come here if I had problems, is that correct boy?" She said happily despite having a problem. "For now just hug and comfort me"

"I-I see" Michael replies and pats her head. He and everyone else now knows for certain, the hooded girl is crazy. But for the moment, Michael was just saved by the crazy girl so he is willing to turn a blind eye to the possible dangers of being an acquaintance with her.

"Hana! Are you alright?" Kurou shouts after the shock wears off.

"I just got stabbed by a servant in the shoulder! What in god's name makes you think I'm alright you retard?" Hana screams. She would normally display a calm persona but when she is pissed, her real self emerges.

Unlike the rest of her clan that specialized in projections, Hana has many specializations that gives her much greater versatility. Among her specializations, her mastery in healing is only second to her mastery in the ancient Tohsaka jewel craft. As long as the hooded servant ignores her, she will be as good as new in a few minutes.

Kurou lets out a sigh of relief. He turns his attention back to the priest and talks to him.

"So... You wanted to talk?" Kurou said

"YES! For the love of God! My message has finally gone through!" Michael turns around and replies. "Why did it take so damn long for you to get it?"

Suddenly, Arthuria storms into the room with weapon drawn and points it at Michael. The hooded girl reacts to her sudden appearance by preparing a very powerful looking spell.

"Release him and I might spare you" Arthuria ordered. She notices the hooded servant near the priest but does not change her threatening attitude. She is confident that she can cut the hooded girl in two with just one hit.

"Now now. Why don't we calm down and talk this over" Michael said in desperate attempt to calm the situation.

"Said the fake priest who has already injured two people" Arthuria replies

As if fate has some sort of grudge against Michael, SABER bursts through a wall near Michael. SABER notices the hooded servant but seeing that they are both in the same side, she lets her misgivings slide for now. Now with 3 servants in a small confined space, the recipe for mass destruction is complete. Michael couldn't help but face palm at his misfortune. He puts his mind into high gear to think of a solution to the very delicate situation.

"Well then SABER... No, I should call you Arthuria Pendragon." Arturia flinch " As you can see, I have two servants on my side and I'm pretty sure that you already know my SABER's capabilities. Add the uncertain factor of a second servant and you know that you're in a disadvantage. While my SABER keeps you occupied, this young lady can go and kill your master." Michael explains with the confidence that he doesn't have. He would preferably avoid that situation if possible.

Arthuria sees her disadvantage and lowers her weapon.

"Very well. Talk" She said.

-:-

They moved to the place in the building where there are tables and chairs. In one side sits the Emiya siblings with Arthuria standing behind them. On the other side sits Michael with SABER behind him... and the hooded servant stands beside him while lovingly toying with his hair

"Micheal... why is SHE here?... No... actually, never mind. She saved your life out of good will so I'll let it pass for now." SABER said despite being very against the hooded girl's presence.

"Don't worry SABER, I'll behave for now…. For now at least… fufufu" She in a seductive tone

"You better do so or I'll chop you in half" SABER replies

Every sane person in the room can't help but feel a bit uneasy of the hooded servant.

"Well... Anyways... How do you like my proposal" Michael said. He still has second thoughts about talking while the black girl was still there but he prefers to seal the alliance now than later.

"Hm... It's leaning on us gaining more in this alliance than you. What do you think Hana?" Kurou asks his sister

"Yeah I agree with Bro on this one." She said while looking at the contract (written on old tissue paper) in front of her.

Written in the contract are the conditions of their alliance

1. Michael is required protect Emiya Kurou and Hana. The Emiya's are not required to do the same

2. Michael is required to share information with the Emiya's. The Emiya's are not required to do the same

3. Michael is not allowed to use any of the Emiya's riches. The Emiya's can use Michael's wealth as long as they have permeation.

"Normally things that is too good to be true because they are."Arthuria inserts herself to the conversation "How can we trust that you won't betray us in the end?"

"I guess being cautious is the right attitude in a war… But I guess you're going to have to trust me based on the fact that I was holding back the entire time. Isn't that right Emiya Kurou?" Michael says to Kurou

"Is that true Kurou?" Arthuria asks and Kurou nods in response

"The most severe injury I got from him is being stabbed by his spear in my palm. He avoided hitting any of my vital organs and concentrated on my outer extremities. His injuries are worse than mine." Kurou said

Hana thinks a bit then answers with her verdict.

"How about this. Let's start with a "We don't attack you. You don't attack us" rule for now. Is that alright with you?" Hana said

"Trust is earned not given freely huh? Sure, I'm fine with that arrangement. What about you SABER?" Michael asks his servant

"A small chance of fight side by side with the famed King of Knights? I have no complaints. Is that alright with you Lady Pendragon?" SABER replied.

"I don't mind…. But may I inquire the name of my future comrade?" Arthuria asks.

SABER shifts uncomfortably at the question. Michael notices it and moves to her rescue

"Stop right there Arthuria. I cannot allow you to know SABER's true name" Michael says

"Why? As a knight, introducing yourself to your allies and enemies is customary. Or is it that you are asking for our trust while you greatly distrust us?" Arthuria raises her voice a bit

"Once again, you misunderstand Arthuria. It's not because I don't trust you, it's just that I don't trust myself" Michael explains which was met by confused looks. "Despite my high magical potential, my ability as a magus is zero. It is easy to pry my mind without my knowledge with the use of spell. Thus, the best way to keep a secret is not to know it at all" Michael ends his explanation.

Surprisingly, Arthuria approves. With her approval, the alliance was now in effect.

"Though still in the initial stages, The Emiya-Angelo alliance has been formed" Kurou stands and offers his hand.

"An honor to work with you" Michael takes his hand and shakes it.

* * *

><p>In another part of the same apartment complex, a woman with long purple ponytail, black clothes and a white skull masks watches over the formation of the Emiya-Angelo alliance.<p>

_It seems my master was right to use those baits. Keeping an eye on them yeilded surprising results_ The woman thought to herself. _Time to report back to master._

She disappears into the shadows, leaving no trace that she was ever there.

* * *

><p>EMIYA<p>

End

* * *

><p><em><strong>SERVANT COMPENDIUM<br>**_

**Servant: SABER** (Joan of Arc)

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: B  
>Endurance: B<br>Agility: A  
>Magic: A<br>Luck: C

Weapon: Sword

**SKILLS**

****Magic Resistance******- EX**  
>In addition to the Magic Resistance of the Saber Class, she demonstrates a high anti-magic from her unwavering piety. However, since it is just averting (evading) the Magecraft, only Joan will be saved against a wide-range magic attack. It cannot cope with the sacraments of the Church.<p>

****Revelation******- EX**  
>A Skill equivalent to "Instinct". Instinct is a sixth sense regarding battles, but "Revelation" accommodates all matters related to the achievement of a goal (for instance, choosing the most suitable path while traveling). Because there is no basis (so she thinks), it cannot be explained well to others.<p>

****Charisma**-A**  
>The natural talent to command an army. Joan's figure participating in the assaults hoisting a flag raised the morale of the soldiers to the limit and united the troops. Thanks to her charisma, it is possible to make others believe in the contents of the "revelations" without basis.<p>

****Saint******-B**  
>Indicates being acknowledged as a saint. When summoned as a Servant, the ability of saint is selected one among "raising the effectiveness of sacraments", "automatic HP recovery", "1 <em>Rank-Up<em> to Charisma" and "production of a holy shroud is possible".

**NOBLE PHANTASM  
><strong>

**La Pucelle: The Crimson Holy Woman** **- A++**  
>A holy sword that manifest flames which uses the line of a death poem "O Lord, I entrust this body to you-" as activation incantation. A conceptual crystallization weapon that interpreted Joan's burning at the stake in an attack-like fashion. A subspecies of Reality Marble, an imagined landscape crystallized as a sword. This sword is Heroic Spirit Joan of Arc herself and after the battle in which this Noble Phantasm was manifested, Joan will be extinguished.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: SABER<strong> (Arthuria Pendragon)

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: B  
>Endurance: A<br>Agility: A  
>Magic: A<br>Luck: D

Weapon: Sword

**SKILLS**

****Magic Resistance******- A**  
>Cancel spells of <em>A-Rank<em> or below. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi

**Riding- A**

All creatures but those of _Phantasmal Beast_ and _Divine Beast_-rank can be used as mounts.

**Charisma- B**

Suitable for a king of a country.

**Instinct- A**

Refined sixth sense is now close to true precognition. Bonus effect of reducing by half the penalties caused by obstructed vision and hearing.

**Prana Burst- A**

A normal weapon that is not on the level of a divine mystery can be destroyed in one blow. Raises defense in several times.

**NOBLE PHANTASM**

**Invisible Air- C**

It is a bounded field closer to magecraft than a Noble Phantasm that is made up of multiple layers of wind compressed into super-high pressure air with a massive amount of prana, which distorts the refraction of light and renders what is inside completely invisible.

**Excalibur- A++**

An anti-fortress noble phantasm of the famed King of Knights. Long story short, it is similar to a high particle beam cannon


	4. Holy Orders

**DISCLAIMER:**

I do not own Fate Apocrypha and any related servants. It all belongs to Type Moon

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Notes<strong>

This chapter introduces the people that will have a large role in the overall story. Not much action here

Just to be clear, I will only post servant status when they go into combat.

Enjoy

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 4 - Holy Orders-<p>

-Decadence-

9:00 PM East Apocrypha

The East part of the Apocryphan battlefield resembles what Apocrypha looked like before the nuclear war. 50 story buildings, perfectly smooth concrete roads, tons of unnecessary light and cars on the road.

The _CAR_ dwindled to near extinction after Gaia's extermination, making it a sign of wealth and royalty. The spare parts are normally custom made due to the lack of factories that produce it. Fuel is also a rare and expensive commodity with a staggering 50 credits ($50) per liter. A cheaper version was produced by alchemist but the standard $10 per liter is still fairly expensive for the common man.

Loyd Juneweather has been out on the field, gathering info for 3 days straight but that ends when his master called him back earlier that day. He speeds down the almost empty road in one of the rarest car in the world, the Aston Martin DB5. The info he holds would normally cost millions if sold, but the only person who will be hearing it is his master, Jasmine Gayver. He parks his car at an underground parking lot beneath the tallest building in the east. He takes the elevator up to the 500th floor to meet with his master.

The entire 50th floor is occupied by 1 abnormally large room complete with an indoor swimming pool, tennis court, basket, mini golf course, library and a very large bed. 4 men (1 of them is a girly man) slumbers on the bed, clearly having all of their "energy" drained from them.

Loyd surveys the area and spots his master by the indoor swimming pool. His master is currently swimming without any clothes on... a big turn on for Loyd. Just outside the pool was CASTER who was reading a book. CASTER spots Loyd and calls alerts her master

"JUSTI- I mean, JASMINE! One of your toys is here!" CASTER shouted. Jasmine Gaver swims towards them and exits the pool, not bothering to cover up. Jasmine stands at 5" with shoulder length messy blond hair, flat chest yet still has a 20 man harem despite those disadvantages.

"Oh... um... what was your name again?" Jasmine asks the man

"Loyd. Loyd Juneweather"

"Oh... right. The guy that I sent to gather information. So, found anything interesting?"

"Yes. ASSASSIN please recount the information" Loyd said. Out of nowhere, a black clothed man with purple hair and white skull mask appeared behind him and stood in attention.

"As you wish master. One week has passed since the beginning of the Apocryphan war, and we have noticed a disturbingly large number of servants belonging to the BERSERKER class. We estimate that more than 50% of the servants in the war are BERSERKERS" ASSASSIN said

"That... is bad." Jasmine said. "Normally, masters of BERSERKERS are just as uncontrollable as their servants. On the other hand, it could also be a good thing. Since BERSERKERS are bloodthirsty by nature, then they will kill themselves."

"That does not seem to be the case." ASSASSIN said with was met by the confused look of Jasmine. "Despite the large number of BERSERKERS, the death toll that we know off is somewhere within the 20-30 range"

"WHAT?" Jasmine shouts in surprise. He takes a seat by the edge of the pool to gather his thoughts.

"It seems that the masters knows what will happen if they go all out from the start. They are exercising self restrain for now" ASSASSIN adds

"I see... This complicates things..." Jasmine said." Well... lets leave it at that for now. Anything else noteworthy?"

"Yes. In our threat list, the CASTER of the south is currently at the top. His monsters have occupied a large part of the south but for some reason, he has not expanded beyond that."

"Hmm... That info implies that he has a limit in his summoning range. Thats good. At least we don't have to worry about an invasion and it makes him a very easy target to track." Jasmine said. "So? Anything else?"

"Yes. One last info for now. The clan leader of the Emiya Clan has teamed up with an executor from the Church"

"The clan leader is male right? fufufufu" Jasmine asks, clearly out of lust.

"Yes... I believe he is..." ASSASSIN answers while hiding his disgust. If his master wasn't brainwashed, he would have killed the wrench in a heartbeat. "But that is not the point of interest"

"Ho... then what is?"

"As you know the Emiya clan leaders has always been paired with the Excalibur wielder, King Arthur."

"Everyone knows that ASSASSIN. Why do you think everyone avoids them like a plague? If that is your info then you're loosing your touch ASSASSIN" Jasmine answers arrogantly.

"The Priest's servant, a SABER, was able to corner King Arthur to the point that she was forced to use Excalibur. The Emiya boy was also beaten by the priest who was holding back the entire time."ASSASSIN explains. Jasmine's face hardens as she begins to piece the facts together. ASSASSIN tells Jasmine the painful truth. "A servant that can match King Arthur and a master that is superior to the Emiya Clan leader. If an alliance between those two are formed then..."

"They would be unbeatable?" CASTER asks in a playful voice, clearly not taking the issue seriously

"Yes" ASSASSIN replies

CASTER turns her attention to her master

"Do not be so serious master. Despite their undeniable strength, both of the masters are MALE. You know what to do, do you not?" CASTER said with a mischievous grin

"Fufufu. You're right CASTER. All they need to do is see me... and it would all be over... HAHAHAHAHA" Jasmine laughs with complete confidence of her victory. She turns to Lyod and says "Congratulations Mr. Juneweather, your information is very insightful indeed. Return to your room and come back here after an hour. For the rest of the night, you have me all for yourself"

Lyod, obviously happy with Jasmine's declaration, bowed and left. ASSASSIN silently yet reluctantly followed his mind controlled master.

"You really like being on the receiving end don't you" CASTER said to her master.

"Of course. A girl like me enjoys being such things. You of all people should know that CASTER"

"A _GIRL_... riiiiiiight" CASTER said with a hint of sarcasm. "I guess everyone has their own fetishes... I just hope you don't break your dolls. All this midnight action might kill them before they die in the battlefield"

"Fufufu true enough. But dont worry, we are about to add two very powerful men into my harem. I can't wait!""

* * *

><p>-Lust Sin-<p>

10:00 PM In a hidden mansion, East Apocrypha

"USELESS!" screamed Kim Jong Nuk as he smashes his walking stick into his servant. "I gave you the prana and the freedom to get the job done yet this is how you repay me? With the lack of result?"

In front of him stands a beautiful woman with light blue hair and eyes. She sports a robe that witches wear in fairy tales yet it does not affect her natural charm one bit.

"I am sorry master" She said.

Kim swings his walking stick at her head with so much force that it shatters upon impact. She did not even flinch from the impact. Unknown to him, the woman has casted a shield spell so powerful that it would require a noble phantasm to break through it. Kim did not seem to realize how dangerous his servant truly is.

"You think the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea will rise again with a mere apology? Explain your actions CASTER!"

"Yes master. As of now, what is required to raise your country is not brute force, but soldiers" The moment CASTER said this, her master throws a plate at her face. The plate shatters and CASTER remains unscratched.

"You expect ME to ally myself with others? That is a sign of weakness and weakness is something I should not have!"

"You are mistaken master. They are not ALLIES but PAWNS that will die for your cause. Kings never fight in the front lines, for that is a job for the grunts that worship him"

Kim thinks for a bit and begins to understand what CASTER is trying to say

"Ho... Not bad. I guess that beautiful head of yours is worth something after all. Go and find me some pawns CASTER"

"As you wish master" CASTER said. Her outline begins to distort and she fades from sight

* * *

><p>30 minutes later, CASTER's room<p>

CASTER arcs her back in extacy and collapse on the bed. She breaths hard and her body is drenched with sweat and most importantly, a beautiful peaceful smile is on her lips. This is the smile is something she has never showed her master, Kim Jong Nuk. Ever since she teleported away from Kim, she has been _GRATIFYING_ herself to release some pent up stress.

_Fufufu... This is bad... If I keep lusting for Michael Angelo this badly, I might actually kill Kim_ CASTER happily thought to herself. _Fufufu, who am I kidding! Kim Jong Nuk will die and I have to make sure he does as quickly as possible. I also have to make sure that I end up as Master Michael's servant... unfortunately, I need Kim to live long enough to do that... and his SABER seems to mistrust me so much... *sigh*... To bad... she is kinda cute_

One week has passed since the begining of the war yet she spent almost no time in combat. After her first defeat, her physical abuse under Kim Jong Nuk and meeting Michael Angelo, she has been spending most of her time scouting and such.

Her SCOUTING mostly consists of visiting Michael in his workplace until she got a job as a waitress. Since then, she has joined Michael and SABER in work, play and information gathering.

CASTER has been doing her best to establish a good relation between them but she understands why SABER is so reluctant to put any faith on her. And though not obvious, she knows Michael also does not trust her completely. Considering that this is a warzone, their lack of trust is reasonable. The only thing she can do is earn her place in their heart one step at a time.

CASTER rises from the bed and walks infront of a large mirror to examine her armaments (naked body).

_Hmm... In terms of womanly charms, I win by a land slide against SABER. Tempting him would be relatively easy. But there is a uncertain factor of his tastes... what if he is a pedophile? ... No No No No. I doubt that he is like that. I think..._

CASTER continues her dillusions such as "what food does he like", "how big would their house be" and "how many children would we have". Typical dillusions of a maiden starved for love.

A few minutes later, she snaps herself out of her dillusions

_Oh right... I have to find allies for my TRUE Master. _She dresses up and heads to her crystal ball and checks on the familiars she have spread all across Apocrypha.

She has used most of her hard earned money for materials to create hunderds of small familiars. Thanks to the large number, it did not take her 10 minutes to find 3 noteworthy people. They are noteworthy for one simple reason, they are all members of the church.

The first one is an old yet very muscular and very dangerous looking 6'3" man. He is currently wandering around the northwest part of Apocrypha, as if searching for someone. From what her familiars can percieve, he has a mission to kill Michael Angelo and he intends to follow through. CASTER decides to keep close tabs on him just in case he does something stupid

The second one was a 5'2" tanned skinned, shoulder length purple haired girl with the approximate age of 15-19. She has just recently left the western battlegrounds which is a testament to her power. She survived 1 week in the most chaotic battleground in Apocrypha, a clear indication that she is a monster. Just by looking at her through the familiar, CASTER could deduce that her magical potential far outstrips human comprehension. CASTER is led to believe that the girl is a homonculus. The girl also has the mission of killing Michael Angelo but she doesn't seem to be interested in pursuing her target. CASTER intends to meet her in a few moments

The third one is a 5'5" kind old lady who is currently in the main NCZ of Apocrypha. Due to the prana void boundary field, her familiars cant follow the old lady within the city. The only sure thing CASTER knows about the old lady is her servant. Her servant is a RIDER with a large flying chariot pulled by two bulls of divine origin. She plans to meet them after she gathers enough info on them.

_Well then... time to get allies for master Michael_ She thought to herself. Her outline distorts and the next second, not a trace of CASTER was left in the mansion

* * *

><p>-Holy Orders 1-<p>

101 year old Guru Rashek sits beneath the shade of the trees, north west of Apocrypha. He is curently in a meditative trance, connecting himself with the world around him and turning himself into nothingness at the same time. In meditation, he appreciates the simple joys that the world has to offer. He basks under every movement, every feeling, every sound the world could possibly show him.

... all except one...

Beside him sits a beautiful person of 5'3" in height and sporting long pink hair with black ribbons, white cape, black clothes, black mini skirt, black knee high socks, red-gold chain mail, white gauntlets and boots. The person also has a sword inside a white sheath. This beautiful person is his servant, RIDER.

At first impression, most people in the male gender may be attracted to such a beautiful person at sight... but they do not know 2 important things about RIDER

1. When RIDER starts talking, it never ends.

The main reason for Guru Rashek's meditating is to keep his mental sanity from constant onslaought of words from his servant. Truth be told, Rashek was originaly just an observer thus is not part of the war. It was one of his students who summoned RIDER and joined the war. But after only 1 week, RIDER has already changed master twice at the cost of one command spell per transfer. The second master of RIDER, his student, literally bowed and begged for him to take RIDER off the poor soul's hands... and now he understands why.

2. Using the words of the younger generation... ITS A TRAP!

Despite the beautiful appearance of RIDER, he is in fact male. This information has caused many of his students so much anguish, their sexual fantasies shattered into a million pieces. Rashek understands their pain for he is a man as well, but this is a war thus their sexual desires can wait.

RIDER still sits beside him... and he is still talking, changing from one topic to another at inhumane pace. Before Rashek started meditating, the topics covered where the holy grail war, servants, horses, clouds, pie, underware, electricity, seasons, socks, pudding, booze, cats and the meaning of life. If Rashek wasn't meditating, he would have used a command spell to order RIDER to kill himself.

Rashek suddenly stands after hearing footsteps approaching them.

"What?What?What?What?What? Is somethere? Is there an enemy? Can I show my moves now?" RIDER said in a fast and annoying pace. He draws his sword and starts stabbing just to show his skills

Rashek keeps his silence and strain his eyes at the direction of the footsteps. A few seconds later, Rashek lets out a sigh and sits down. A 6'8" priest with large muscles approaches them with clear lack of killing intent.

"RIDER relax. I know this man personally" Rashek said to RIDER.

RIDER voiced his disapproval but the words falls on deffs ears.

The priests stops infront of Rashek and bows before him.

"It is good to see you again Guru Rashek" He said in an honorable voice

"Likewise Leo Nardo" Rashek responds. "Please take a seat. We have a lot of catching up to do"

"STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP! I disaprove of this chumy chum chum atmosphere!" RIDER interupts. He swings his sword like a child swinging his ratler. "How can I show my super awesome moves if there is no fighting? Huh? HUH! Summon your servant and fight!"

A man suddenly appears behind Leo with a massive spear in hand. He stands at 5'10" with pale white skin, pure white hair, golden eyes, black skin tight outfit, dark gold armor with spikes. He wears a large redish cape that looks like it was made of fire. The final noteable aspect about him is the red jewel that is buried into his chest. He points his spear at RIDER

"Ho... Ho... HoHoHoHoHoHoHo! So you wana fight huh? Come on! Bring it! Put up your dukes! En garde! Come at me bro!" RIDER says, clearly unaware how outmatched he is against the spear wielder

"LANCER stand down. I know this person" Leo commands LANCER

LANCER withdraws his spear stands at attention behind Leo.

"HEY! No Fair! I wanna fight! Come on LANCER! Pretty Please? With sugar and cream on top? I'll even throw in a cherry! -"

"RIDER! Enough!" Rashek stops RIDER before Leo takes back his command. RIDER is clearly displeased but Rashek convices him anyway. "Are you seriously going to fight someone who is willing to listen to your stories? It is a rare opportunty to talk to another hero"

RIDER silences himself. Talking to someone with a different background is bound to yeild some interesting stories. As a matter of fact, RIDER's stories might spread all across the land if his new friend is impressed by him.

"Hmm... I See... Well then!" RIDER grabs LANCER by the hand and drags him away from the masters. "LETS TALK!"

LANCER silent allows himself to be dragged by RIDER, not knowing what madness is in stored for him.

_"Forgive me LANCER"_ Rashek apologized in his head.

"Guru Rashek, I did not expect YOU of all people to join this war" Leo says

"I understand your confusion my pupil... I did not expect to join this war either" Rashek sighs at his misfortune

"... You were forced to join?"

"It is more like I was swayed with pity for one of my stupid students. You saw the way RIDER talks, correct?" Both men looks at their servants. LANCER silently listens to RIDER's never ending banter. Both men cant help but admire LANCER's self control because they can see his lance shake as if it was being held back from killing someone.

"I see... I understand" Leo responds. He silently apologizes to his servant for the suffering he must endure

"Anyway, what brings you here Leo?"

"You have not heard Guru?"

"If it is about the grail war then yes I have heard"

"I see... You have not heard about about Eight Sacrament against Michael"

"Oh... That order about the so called _ANTICHRIST_"

"So you have heard about it. The church has provided 3 top class executors and 100 knights from chivalric order just to hunt Michael down"

"Hmm... 3 executors? Don't tell me..." Rashek asks in horror

"Yes. Me, Rapha and Dona have been dispatched to hunt down and kill Michael" Leo confirms Rashek's greatest fear

Rashek face palms at the news. He cant help but hate the church for forcing his students to fight among themselves. The only thing he is thankful about such an absurd arragement is that the church does'nt know his students as well as he does.

"*sigh* I can't help but be surprised how idiotic the church is"

"The _ANTICHRIST_ is not only a danger to the church but also to humanity. It is only right for him to be hunted down like the dog that he is"

"And you believe that crap?"

"The church will not lie about something as serious as this"

_Naive and stuck up as always_ Rashek recalls the good old days when he trained his greatest studets

"Are you sure the other 2 will follow the church's orders Leo?" Rashek tests his students naivety

"Ofcourse they will. They are executors of the church, thus the orders are absolute" Leo answered without any doubt

"Naive... It seems that you dont even know your friends well enough to predict their actions."

"They are people that I trained with, nothing more. The only thing important is the orders of the church, their will does not matter"

_Not only naive and stuck up, but also retarded. What has the church done to make him this stupid?. _Rashek cant help but feel fustrated.

"Just so you know, Rafa and Dona will most likely ignore the so called _HOLY ORDER_ of the church. Despite being the oldest, Rafa is has the curiousity of a child. She will be too busy discovering worthless information to care about Michael. On the other hand, Dona the Greedy only cares about getting the holy grail to make her young again. She is only using the church to get her into the grail war"

Leo is shocked at his master's words. He has no idea that the two would act that way.

"No... wait... How do you even know that they would act that way?"

"I meet Rapha and Dona atleast 3 times a year. Michael can only meet me secretly once a year because of that stupid order. On the other hand, I havent seen you since the end of training. If you kept your distance from the others, then dont be surprised how little you know"

Leo rubs his forehead in frustration.

"*Sigh* It matters not. After killing Michael, they will follow" Leo said emotionlessly

"It pains me to see my best students fight. I wish I could stop it"

"Will you try and stop me?" Leo says coldly. He has every intention of killing anyone who hinders his mission, even if it is his teacher.

Unfortunately, Rasheks reaction did not meet with his serious mood

"PWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rashek laughs uncontrolably which surprises Leo. "You expect me to stop you with HIM as a servant?"

Both turns their attention to RIDER who was still talking non stop with LANCER

"... I guess thats a no?" Leo answers

"Ofcourse! In this war, I am nothing more than a glorified baby sitter. Besides, I am already too old to be a matched with any of you, let alone stop you."

"Thats good. I prefer not to fight you either." Leo stands up and starts walking away. "LANCER! Lets go"

LANCER moves like the wind as if trying to escape someone. He walks behind Leo like a dutiful servant.

"Oh and before you leave, let me give you some advice Leo" Rashek calls out to Leo

"Sure, what is it"

"Out of the 4 of you, Michael was chosen to be #7 of the Burial Agency. Keep in mind what that means Leo" said Rashek in a very cryptic manner

Leo walks away silently from his master. He understands what his master is trying to say and that is why he desires to kill Michael.

_In short, that enemy of God is stronger than a devout like me? How unlikely! I will prove to everyone that they should have chosen me as the #7!_ Leo steels his will and heads out to find his prey.

* * *

><p>-Holy Orders 2-<p>

A beautiful young, shoulder length purple hair, bespectacled Indian nun walks away from the western battlegrounds in search for new things to learn. Aside from the mini skirt and combat boots, her dress is a typical dark purple nun attaire. Though initially named by her Atlas creators as Rani XI, she prefers the name Rapha El which was given by her fellow students who trained under Guru Rashek.

Despite being active for nearly 71 years, her appearance suggest that she is about 15 to 20 years old. The credit of her _immortality_ goes to how the Atlas alchemist created her body.

Unlike the other Ranis, Rapha El is a homonculus that specialized in warfare. Boasting a massive set of magic circuits, near infinite prana supply, high speed regeneration and super human physical strength, she can be labled as the strongest master in the war.

Despite her advantages, she has only won the first duel against a certain human being during their training. For the remaining time that they spent in training, she has not won a single battle against this man. Her teacher, Guru Rashek, explained that she does not understand the mindset of a weak person works thus caused her to lose.

_"A weak person will never fight fairly against an obvious superior opponent, THAT is a fact. He will use terrain, deception, traps and ambushes just to get the upper hand in battle. If that does'nt work, then he will use blackmail, psychological attacks, poison and sabotage prior to battle. The fact that you have not won against Michael all this time means that you don't understand what it is to be human. Your final assignment is to find out what that is" _These were the words that Guru Rashek said to her at their graduation.

From her graduation to her active missions under the church, all she cared about was to find out what it is to be a human. When she stepped into the real world, she discovered that there are so many things she doesn't know aside from human beings. As a result, she spends most of her time learning about everything whether it is relevant or not to the point that she will ignore everything else.

And that is exactly what is happening right now...

Rapha is currently watching a weasel 5 feet away from her. It was also observing her out of curiousity

" Least Weasel...

Scientific Name: Mustela nivalis

The smallest member of the _Mustelidae_

Also the smallest member of the _Carnivora_

An animal not native animal to Apocrypha

Despite its small size, it is capable of killing a rabbit 5-10 times its weight

Danger Rank: X-E

Cuteness Rank: B- A+

Attempting to find the source of high cuteness rating

...

Unable to deduce cause of high rating from visual information alone

Performing action to determine cause..."

Rapha takes out a black key and hurls it at the weasel, effectively killing it before it could even react. She takes out a plastic bag and puts the dead Least Weasel within.

"Preserving subject for future disection" Rapha says emotionlessly. Despite her cold demeanor, she is actually extatic at the opportunity to learn what _CUTE_ means. She places the plastic bag in her pocket and begins to walk away.

A large tree suddenly falls from the sky and crashes 3 inches infront of her, blocking her path in the process.

"HEY! DON'T IGNORE US BIATCH!" Said a man with a very punkish accent.

Rapha turns around and sees 2 humans and 2 very large servants behind them.

One of them was 6'5" tall, very muscular build, wears black corporate attire, bald with tatoos covering his head. Rapha deduced that he was the one that spoke out earlier. Behind him was a massive 8'3" man with long messy hair, lead color skin, red colored right eye and a yellow feral looking left eye. He wields a massive stone slab that looks like a sword-axe.

"We shouldn't hurt her Jackie! Lady Gayver said not to hurt her!" said a boy beside the large bald man.

The other human is a 5"4' girly man with light blue hair, wearing a similar black attire as his partner. Behind the girly man is a 7"2' man with blond hair, wearing a set of disturbing bondage looking clothes and a body covered with scars. He wields a worn out looking longsword.

"SHUT THE F*CK UP YUKI! Its her fault for ignoring us!" The bald man named Jakie shouts at the girly man named Yuki. He turns his attention to Rapha and says "Now that we have your f*cking attention again, will you accept our proposal or not?"

Rapha looks intensely at the duo for a few seconds. She raises her right hand and points at Yuki

"You... are you gay, homosexual, dark side of the force or all of the above?" Rapha asks emotionlessly.

A vain reveals itself on Yuki's head, a clear indication that he did not like the comment. He turns to the servant behind him

"BERSERKER! She's abusing me! Are you going to let her do this to me?" He complains like a spoiled child to the servant behind him

"Oppressor of the weak, your end shall come with my blade!" The scared man runs towards Rapha with every intention of turning her into dust

"H-hey... Aren't we suppose to-" Jakie asks timidly to his partner but was cut off by the maniaical Yuki

"SHUT IT! She dare called my gay! I'll kill her and rip her guts out!" Yuki screams with a high pitch voice, silencing the larger man out of fear.

Rapha watches with little interest on the approaching enemy. When the enemy BERSERKER is about 20 meters away from her, she begins her offensive.

"BERSERKER" said Rapha

A large chaotic gust of prana appears behind the nun. It was so menacing that even the approaching BERSERKER stopped in his tracks. Eventually, the storm of prana dies down and a man appears in the middle of it all. He is a 6"6' tall man with shoulder length brown hair, wearing nothing more than a blue make shift underware to cover his private parts. His skin is light brown with glowing red tatooes at the place where his bones are.

"Kill them" Rapha commands.

"=-=========-=-!" BERSERKER roars and begins running towards the scared enemy

He quickly picks up a stone and throws it with all of his might at the enemy. The scared man continues his charge while smiling at the enemy's attempt to hurt him. He does not even bother blocking the incoming stone... a very big mistake

The stone plants itself into BERSERKER's shoulder and knocking him 1 meter back. Not only the scared man but all of the people present at the scene were surprised at the event that just happened. Rapha's BERSERKER does not give them any time to be surprised as it picks and throws one rock after another at the downed man with reckless abadon. The scene is something straight out of an old WW2 movie where machine guns are fired recklessly with the sound of bones breaking are clear for everyone to hear

Though it is clear who has the advantage, Rapha does'nt get cocky for one simply reason... the enemy servant is smiling.

"HONORED TO THE BATTERED! DEATH TO THE OPPRESSORS!" The scared servant roars as he forces his beaten to rises and continues his charge. He painstakingly close the gap with Rapha's servant and raises his sword to attack but the servant jumps out of range.

Rapha's BERSERKER abandons stoning the enemy to death and decides to simply beat it to death in melee. He grabs the nearest 20 foot tree and with a loud roar, he rips it out of the ground. Strange tatoo like symbols similar to the ones Rapha's BERSERKER has appears on the tree. He swings down at the wounded servant causing him to kneel under the force. The ground becomes disfigured from the shock and dirt flies to the air as if the place was bombed. Rapha's servant lifts the tree and performs a golf like swing with the wounded servant as a ball. The wounded servant is sent flying 50 feet in the air and a loud thud was heard more than 100 feet from the battleground.

The crowd was silent for a few seconds after the performance of the god-like servant.

"BERSERKER? DONT LEAVE ME!" Yuki screams as he breaks into a frantic run to catch up with his servant leaving Jakie and his BERSERKER to deal with the monsterous servant.

"Ahem... hmm..." Jakie says unconfortably. "Well... Can we talk about this?"

Rapha's servant roars and charges at the remaining master. Jakie's BERSERKER moves to intercept the god like servant. Jakie's servant was able to close the gap before Rapha's servant was able to raise the tree into position causing him to go into defensive. Jakie's servant swings his sword-axe reclessly at the tree effectively cornering the slower servant.

Despite the advantage of the faster servant, both master knows that Rapha's servant is the winner here. The main reason lies in the class which the are summoned, the BERSERKER. Due to the mental interferance in their class, both does not have the proper dexterity and motor control to perform precise techniques. A battle between BERSERKERS is a battle of pure brute strength, something that Rapha's servant has in abnormal quantities.

The faster servant locks weapons with Rapha's servant as if it lost the patience to try and break the tree.

This action is a very fatal error. Now that the faster servant is not moving, Rapha's BESERKER simply needs to overpower him. The god like servant forces power into his arms and blows his enemy 5 meters backwards. The enemy servant skids into a stop but was smashed to the left by the large range of the tree. The enemy servant crashes into a nerby tree causing it to fall from the force. Before he could stand, he is impaled by Rapha's BERSERKER using the tip of the tree as a spear, effectively killing him.

BERSERKER lifts the dead body using the tree and throws it somewhere near the enemy master.

"Wow... You acutally killed my BERSERKER once... Not Bad" Jackie said arrogantly. "But Heracles will not be taken down so easily!"

Behind him, the his servant begins to rise despite his grevious wounds earlier. Speaking of the wounds, his body is already regenerating at a very fast pace.

Loud footsteps is heard through out the forest and a few moments later, Yuki and his BERSERKER returns to the battleground.

"Ho ho ho..." Yuki said in a very arrogant voice "Looks like you're outnumbered here... So, whats it gonna be Miss El? Join Lady Gayver or die here? I prefer if you chose _Die Here_ coz I really want to kill you"

True enough, Rapha is in a very bad situation. Her BERSERKER has a very big weakness and that is his endurance. BERSERKER has the ability that sacrifices every stat he has to ensure that his strength will aways stay at the EX Rank. Even with a powerful master like Rapha and the stat boost from Mad Enhancement, his initial STR rating is still not high enough thus causing his skill to automatically sacrifice his other stats for STR.

Rapha analyses her situation as quickly as she can but cannot find a means to win. The best solution is to kill the enemy masters but she alone cannot do that in this situation. Running is a possible option but the servant Heracles can easily catch up with her and BERSREKER. With no other option available, she steels her will and decides to fight to the death.

"BERSERKER... Kill them" Rapha commands and her servant answers with a roar

"HAHAHAHA! GOOD CHOICE!" Yuki says in a loud voice. Both enemy BERSERKER charges at the Rapha with reckless abadon.

Everyone in the battleground knows that the match has been decided.

Rapha will die here.

...

"Ατλασ"

The two charging BERSERKERS is stopped in their tracks as if they were frozen in place. All of the masters was taken by surprise at the sudden change in events. They look skywards for the source of the voice and was horrified at what they saw. A beautiful blue haired woman wearing witch robes that acts as wings that keep her afloat in mid air and behind her is the a sky covered with purple magic circles.

"...Oh Faq ..." is the only thing Jakie manage to squeeze out

The woman smiles at their stuned face and points her staff at the two disabled servants. The magic circle glowed brightly as balls of light formed at their center. The next event that transpired can be described by the words _Rain Of Light_ as A-Rank spells bombard the two BERSERKERS mercilessly. With each strike, the fire becomes larger and the earth becomes even more disfigured.

After 30 seconds of brutal bombardment, the forest was turned into a scorched creator yet the two BERSERKERS stand in the middle of it. Despite having his face blown off and his chest turned into swiss cheese, the Servant Heracles stands tall as if he built the endurance to shrug off the magical bombardment. On the other hand, the scared servant was bloodied to the point that not one bit of his flesh isnt dyed with his blood. The horrifying thing about the servant was not his injuries, but his smile which did not disappear ever since the battle started.

The witch is not surprised that it ended this way. She knows about Heracle's God Hand NP thus can only kill him a few times before her spells looses any effectiveness. She does'nt know much about the scared servant but she does know that he is tough beyond belief after watching their fight with Rapha's BERSERKER.

"I knew it would end up like this... but I still can't help but by such endurance." She said. She turns her attention to the two masters and said. "How about we make a deal masters under Gayver. I will let you live if you vacate the premesis peacefully."

"Like hell we will!" Jackie replies, clearly not amused with her offer. "We already know that you cant kill our sevants so there is no need for us to retreat!"

"Fu fu fu... True enough, I lack the means to destroy your servants... but..." All of the magic changes angle and aims at the two masters "I can easily send you two into oblivion! Fu fu fu fu... Choose wisely"

The two masters feel the pressure as the magic circles begin generating balls of light within them. Without much of a choise, both master begins walking away with their servants behind them. The moment they are out of sight, the witch lands near Rapha with ragged breath.

"Detecting sympthoms of prana depletion... Asking for current condition and reason for lack of prana" Rapha asks the witch

"Sorry about that... that bastard Kim doesnt provide me much prana... If I fired another volley, I might have left this world" CASTER answers while trying to catch her breath

"Asking for reason in helping"

"Hmm... You're not big on words are you? Well, whatever. I'm here to propose an alliance"

"The master _KIM_ seems to be a control freak. Too troublesome to deal with" Rapha replies

"Oh no no no. I'm asking for you to ally up with me, not that bastard. I need your help to free myself from him" CASTER says.

Despite keeping a poker face, Rapha is filled with disgust at CASTER

"A trecherous servant is dangerous" Rapha turns around and begins walking away. "For your aid, you will be spared... the next encounter might not end peacefully"

"Negotiation failed huh... oh well" CASTER said as she takes a seat on a near by rock. "Oh by the way, do you know Michael Angelo?"

Rapha stops and turns to CASTER with a rare look of surprise

"Fu fu fu... Interested?" CASTER teases the nun. Rapha walks back and takes a seat on a nearby rock

"Talk"

* * *

><p>-Holy Orders 3-<p>

In the peaceful city in the middle of Apocrypha, another form of war is being waged. 21 people who have the right to call themselves _One of the Best_ in Apocrypha are gathered in a friendly competion to prove their superiority to one another. Outsiders and even Servants were also welcome to this battle of superiority, bringing the total participants to 50.

But after 5 non-stop hours, the battle has taken a terrible toll to its very own participants. Among the original 50 participants, only 2 people remain in the fight and one of them is dangling by a thread. The 21 _Bests_, the other fallen and the audience watched in awe as the climax draws near in the battle between a master and her servant

The servant, a large red haired, 6' 11" man was on his knee in a desperate attempt to keep himself in the fight. In front of him was his master, an old nun calmly taking another sip from her mug with little to no care in the world

DAMN IT!" The servant slams his fist into the floor out of frusration. "How can I conquer the world if I fall here?" He roars with all his might causing the audience to roar in support

His master sighs at such exaggerated actions. She takes another sip from her mug then talks to her servant

"Please stop that RIDER, do you know how embarrassing to watch a grown man act like a child?"

"SILENCE! Even if you are my master, I will not allow you to insult a mans pride!"

"Ho ho ho... a mans pride huh? Do explain" The nun teases her servant

"Look around you Master Dona! All of these men entered the battlefield to prove that they are REAL MEN... yet a woman like you is dominating them!"

"... So what if I win?"

"This is a battle amongst MEN thus the winner has to be a MAN!" He uses a nearby table for support as he attempts to rise. "My fellow men who called themselves as TRUE MEN has fallen thus their hopes all rest in me!"

The crowd chants "RISE! RIDER! RISE!" to show their support to the large man.

"I AM ISKANDAR KING OF CONQUERORS!" He shakily stands while putting all his weight into the table. "I REFUSE TO LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!"

Unfortunately, the table he used as support could not handle his weight and collapses. The king of conquerors slams face first into the floor, rattling his already woozy head. The crowd watches silently at the fallen king. The nun drains her drink and walks towards her fallen servant like the Virgin Mary comforting the sick but the next words that leaves her mouth was as cruel as the 9 circles of hell.

"*Sigh* If you can't hold your drink, then don't challenge me to a drinking contest" Dona tells RIDER with a kind voice

"Damn it" RIDER says in a small voice.

Manly sobs were heard as the manly pride of the manly participants was manly shattered by a sweet old woman. As if to add insult to injury, Dona Telo showed no sign of being in the influence.

The crowd errupts with applause as they unanimously recognize Dona Telo as the winner of 201 th Apocryphan "Non stop Drinking War". She not only received 10 thousand credits prize money, she also won 1 million credits for betting on herself. She also unintentionally created the apocryphan myth that people from the church are undrunkable.

After a speech and the after-party (which involves more drinking), they exit the tavern and headed for the apartment district to rent a place to stay.

"Ho ho ho ho ho! What a haul!" Dona laughs arrogantly. She has not stopped bragging about destroying many men's pride in the drinking tournament.

_"Master... Are you, by some chance, a sadist?"_

"Ho ho ho ho! We have been together for more than 1 week and you just found out? Shame on you"

_"I see... hmm... I see... You use your NICE OLD LADY act to make everyone lower their guard"_

"That is correct RIDER. I probe for weaknesses and abuse it before anyone can even react"

"_Very Good! May I interest you in joining me in world conquest? We can share the Holy Grail and rule the world!"_

"Ho ho ho ho! Tempting offer butI have some personal selfish plans for the Grail"

"_Ah... your wish huh? Interesting... care to elaborate?"_

"I want what all women wants! Youthful Beauty!"

RIDER was silenced a bit at his masters statement

"_You would use the All Mighty Holy Grail for something as senseless as your own vanity?"_ RIDER roars in objection

"Ho ho ho! That is my wish and you can't do anything about it! Ho ho ho" Dona declares and laughs like a high class woman

"_YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SH..."_ RIDER begins to say but was suddenly struck with a realization. _"Oh... wait... don't tell me... it's to get a man? AT YOUR AGE?"_

"H-Ho ho ho!" Dona laughs and looks somewhere very far away in embarrassment. "What can I say? The fact that _I, _the great Dona Telo, have not been able to get a certain man under my claws at the height of my beauty has pissed me off to no end! I swear on my pride as one of the very few students who graduated Master Rashek's hellish training, I will get rejuvenate my youth and seduce that bastard!" She swears loudly to the stars causing nearby bystanders to mistake her for a crazy person

RIDER would have face palmed if he wasn't in spirit form.

"_And I thought I was greedy...*sigh*"_

"Keep talking sore loser. But by all means, do try to savour the agony of being beaten by an old lady. You don't get to experience that on a daily basis."

"_Grr... I'll get you for this, I swear on my title as King of Conquerors!"_

"Ho ho ho ho! You are 10 years to early to challenge me to a drinking contest RIDER!"

They continued their senseless conversation throughout their search for a decent apartment. They were able to rent a high class apartment on top of a hill with a good view of the city for 1000 credits. It was fully furnished including kitchen materials and groceries that would last them another week or so. Using their complaining stomach as a sign, Dona cooks a simple dinner consisting of bacons and eggs.

"I've been wondering Dona, how is it possible for someone to drink alcohol for 5 hours straight and not get drunk?" RIDER asks during their meal

"Oh my... Probing for weaknesses already?" Dona answers sarcastically

"I can't help it. Even during my lifetime, I have never seen such an abnormal ability. What's your secret?"

"Fu fu fu... It's no big secret. It is mostly thanks to the physical conditioning at an early age during my days as an apprentice of the Executors"

"Executors? The assassins of the Church?"

"You are well informed. Yes, Executors are the heretic hunters of the church"

"The church trains their students by making them drink booze at an early age? And to think I always thought of them as a stuck up bunch... How wrong was I" RIDER replies which caused Dona to giggle

"I guess that misunderstanding is to be expected after what I done. Unfortunately you wrong about that one RIDER. Our teacher, Guru Rashek, made us drink small amounts of different types of poisons on a daily basis"

"... WHAT?" RIDER unconsciously slams the table in shock. "I knew the church was a little crazy but feeding children poison daily is just... wrong! And are you implying that poison and booze are the same? Blasphemy!"

"Alcoholic beverages at large quantities becomes poison to the body you know? Me and the other 3 survivors of Rashek's training are unnaturally high resistance to nearly all poisons, be it man made, natural or supernatural in origin. Local booze is almost like water to us... though it tastes nasty"

"Hmm... immunity to booze... how boring. Let's change the subject... What did you mean by you and the 3 survivors of your master's training?" RIDER asks

"Students of Guru Rashek are trained specifically to be candidates for the Burial Agency, the bloodiest and most heretical sector of the church. Since those in the Burial Agency are the strongest in the church, his candidate must be exceedingly skilled at tracking and killing any enemy in any situation with any means."

"Impressive! From what you just said, we are the strongest master servant pair in this war!"

"Ho ho ho ho. It is unfortunate but you are wrong RIDER" Dona says with a hint of self depreciation. "Among the 4 of us, I am the weakest. The other 3 are monstrous compared to me, especially the one that became the #7 of the Burial Agency" Dona says while looking outside the window with longing

"And the name of this #7 is?" RIDER asks. He was able to deduce that #7 is probably the one that his master failed to seduce

"His name is-"

"**DUM DUM DUM!"** A voice said directly to their brain causing them to tense up.

Dona takes a look out the window and notices that everyone has stopped whatever they were doing. She notes that their bodies are tense as if preparing for battle. There can only be one cause to the tense environment...

"Nene" Dona tells RIDER who nods in response

"**Yo yo yo! DJ Nene is in the house! ... Well, technically speaking, I'm on top of a tower but who cares about the details! I see everyone is being cautious, not taking any risks in early skirmishes. It is good to be smart but its BORING!"** Nene said in her usual cheerful voice.

Every last soul in Apocrypha who is listening to her announcement can tell what is about to happen. Nene is going to force them to fight somehow.

"**Since you guys are being boring, it is my job to keep myse- I mean, the war as interesting as possible. I have decided to host an event just for the heck of it! This event has no name since I can't think of anything good names... Anyways, this event will be a 5 minute battle royal with a 3 square kilometre plain as a battlefield in the northwest part of Apocrypha. The rules are simple, for each servant kill, the killer will get 10 million credits instantly. It does not matter if the one you killed is dirt poor, as long as you kill him/her within the battleground and during the event, you will get the money! This is open to all participants so whoever is in desperate need of cash, this event is for you! The event is going to be tomorrow 12 noon. SEE YA THERE!"**

Apocrypha was abnormally silent after the announcement. If there was a phrase to describe it, it would be _THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM_

* * *

><p>Holy Orders<p>

END

* * *

><p><em><strong>SERVANT COMPENDIUM<br>**_

**Servant: BERSERKER** (Heracles)

Alignment: Chaotic Mad

Weapon: Axe Sword

Strength: A+  
>Endurance: A<br>Agility: A  
>Magic: A<br>Luck: B

Skills:

Mad Enhancement- B  
>Rank up for all parameters, but takes away most of sanity<p>

Battle Continuation- A

Makes possible to fight even with deadly injuries and can remain alive so long as one does not receive a decisive fatal wound.

Bravery- A+

Bonus effect of increasing melee damage. Not usable under Mad Enhancement

Divinity- A

Son of Zues thus 1/2 god. Became a full god after death

Eye of the Mind (Fake)- B

An innate talent to sense and avoid danger based on intuition, that can also be called the Sixth Sense or prescience, gained through many ordeals and adventures. At B rank, it is almost similar to Instinct

Noble Phantasms:

God Hand- B

12 Layers of resurrection magics. Cancels out any B ranked attack. It also builds up resistance to reoccurring attacks that can damage him. The stock lives will regenerate outside combat

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: BERSERKER<strong> (Spartacus)

Alignment: True Neutral

Weapon: Sword

Strength: A  
>Endurance: EX<br>Agility: D  
>Magic: E<br>Luck: D

Skills

Mad Enhancement - ?

Spartacus can still talk but is obsessed with the idea of fighting the oppressor thus unable to come with an understanding with his master

Honor of the Battered- A

In the instance that Spartacus' injuries are repaired by means of magecraft, the required prana cost is quartered. In truth, the pain inflicted heightens his combat focus, allowing him to tap into his full potential; by corollary, if he is not injured, he cannot fight at full strength

Noble Phantasm

Howl of the Wounded Beast- E-A+

A permanently active-type of Noble Phantasm. It is possible to convert part of the damage inflicted by the enemy into prana and accumulate it in the body. The efficiency of this conversion into prana raises the more Spartacus physical strength decreases. The prana that was accumulated in the body like this can be used to boost Spartacus' abilities. If he is damaged to the point of being on the verge of death, possibly an enormous prana enough to destroy everything before Spartacus' eyes will be saved up

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: BERSERKER<strong> (Samson)

Alignment: Lawful Mad

Weapon: Anything

Strength: EX  
>Endurance: D<br>Agility: C  
>Magic: E<br>Luck: E

Skills:

Mad Enhancement- C  
>Rank up for all parameters except Luck and Mana, but in exchange one can no longer think and speak properly.<p>

Noble Phantasms:

Savage Combat Mastery- A

The embodiment of Samon's triump against a philistine army with nothing but a jawbone of a donkey as a weapon. Samson can use anything remotely usable as a weapon as a D rank Noble Phantasm. Unlike Lancelot's Knight of Honor, Samson does not gain any proficiency in the weapons he uses. Savage Combat Mastery is also limited to things that are not originally ment as weapons such as stones, trees, kitchen knifes, shoes, etc.

God's Strength- EX  
>With the blessing of God, Samson strength will always be ranked EX. This skill will sacrifice other stats to force STR to EX<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: CASTER<strong> (Medea)

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Weapon: Staff, Dagger

Strength: E  
>Endurance: D<br>Agility: C  
>Magic: A+<br>Luck: B

Skills:

Item Creation- A

Capable of making healing potions that grant limited immortality

Territory Creation- A

The skill to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus. At A Rank,Creation of a "Temple", which is superior to a "Workshop", becomes possible

High Speed Divine Words- A

The power to activate Thaumaturgy without the use of Magic Circuits. At A Rank, High Thaumaturgy-level Magecraft at the speed of Single Action spells

Noble Phantasm

Rule Breaker- C

Once it comes into contact with the ensorcelled item or person, enchantments, connections bounded through contracts, and creatures created and maintained by prana will all be returned to their original components in a state "before they were made." Pathetically weak if used as a weapon

Argon Coin- EX

A very expensive coat of golden fleece from the winged ram Chrysomallos, given to King Aeëtes of Colchis by Phrixus as a token of his gratitude. It is capable of summoning a Clohic Dragon. Unfortunately, Medea lacks the knowledge to summon a phantasmal beast thus this goes unused


	5. Ride to Victory

******DISCLAIMER:**

****I do not own the title, servants and skills. It all belongs to type moon

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHORS NOTES<strong>

- Seeing how Nasu exaggerates a lot of stuff (FACT: A sword CANNOT fire beams), that means I can also exaggerate on stuff as well (I have no idea how many guns can fit into 1 galleon, but i doubt it can hold more than 40 guns)

- I placed certain values to certain skills which had no provided rank

- I changed a certain noble phantasm of a certain servant coz i didnt understand the original NP.

- Enjoy

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 5- Ride to Victory<p>

-A bit of Happiness-

8 AM Central Apocrypha

The town is surprisingly lively even though it was just 8 in the morning, which is the direct result of Nene's whimsical announcement last night. Every shop owner is in a rush to open up to abuse the early spike in costumers. Majority of the costumers are masters who are preparing some snacks and drinks to bring with them while watching the very 1st Nene Event of the war. The hype it was generating is very similar to an NBA final of the 20th century or the Gladiatorial Matches of ancient Rome.

Another reason for the hype is the chance to uncover the identities of the participants and gauge their strength... But to be honest, they just want to watch people kill each other without risking their necks for once.

Just like everyone else, the trio of Michael Angelo, SABER and CASTER is having an early breakfast after their grocery shopping.

Not 1 minute after Nene's announcement, CASTER suddenly appears in front of Michael and firmly insists that they go on a picnic during the event. Michael originally planned to watch the event from the shadows with the hopes of not only identifying the servants within the event, but also those within the audience. Unfortunately, CASTER insisted that a fine day would be wasted if they did not go on a picnic. Despite the flawed logic, she was able to convince SABER that a picnic is a must during such an occasion. Michael was forced to comply after being outvoted by the two servants

Initial events of the day suggested that it was going to be a relatively peaceful and fun day. They mostly bought food that can be made on site such as sandwiches and vegetable salads. They also went window shopping for clothes, just like what normal people used to do. But that change the moment they took an early breakfast after the window shopping. Michael stared silently at the two servants with cold, analyzing eyes. Both knows that he is in a very serious mood for one reason, he has not touched his egg pie... he loves it like it was God himself.

CASTER keeps her head down to hide her desperate attempt of calming her shaking body. Though Michael has done nothing to warrant such response, CASTER's wild imagination has gotten the better off her.

_Did I do something wrong?_

_Did he found out who my real master is?_

_Does he know him?_

_What if he puts me in the same league as that nutjob?_

_Or... don't tell me... he found out that I'm going to betray that egomaniac?_

_THATS EVEN WORSE!_

_A treacherous servant normally warrants a "DIE" command spell!_

_No! ANYTHING BUT THAT!_

Due to panic, CASTER completely forgets the fact that she is not a servant of Michael, thus he is not capable of using a command spell on her. She would have asked SABER for help but can't under Michael's presence. With no support rely on, she endures his cold stare with what little confidence she has.

On the other hand, SABER keeps her cool despite being uneasy of her master's cold stare. She is a one week veteran of dealing with her whimsical master, thus she knows a bit of his abnormal train of thought. 20% of the time, the words that leave his mouth are so insightful that it rips her very soul apart. The other 80% are words are nonsense that are so annoying that she has often considered giving him a good beat down. The most annoying part about this is, she can't tell which one will come out of his mouth.

She wanted to explain this to the inexperienced CASTER but decides not to. There is still a 20% chance that Michael will talk about a very serious topic, thus it would be rude if she interrupts something important.

Michael sighs, causing both girls to tense up.

"You both look weird..." Michael said.

Silence...

"WHY IN GODS NAME ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT?" SABER roars as she slams on the table, startling the other costumers

"Wow wow! Relax SABER. There is no need to shout" Michael responds, surprised at SABER's sudden outburst

"SHUT UP! Look at CASTER! She's terrified of the face that you were making" SABER said while pointing at CASTER.

True enough, CASTER was sweating profusely with a smile of relief on her face. She was relieved that she truly was just over analyzing the situation.

"Ah... Sorry" Michael bows low in apology

"No no no! Its fine" CASTER replies. "Anyway, why do we look weird?"

"Well, when we were window shopping, I suddenly noticed how weird your clothes are" Michael points at both at their attire.

CASTER removed her hood but her overall look was still not something anyone would wear. SABER wore Michael's oversized robe over her armour. Though the sight of a beautiful young lady wearing oversized robes does raise a few MOE points, her overall appearance is just plain weird.

"Hmm... true" SABER agrees after she finally takes a good look at herself and CASTER. "But it's not like I have a choice... We've been too busy either gathering information, working for rations or fighting for our lives to actually care about our looks"

"Good point, which leads us to why I was so silent for the past 5 minutes. I'm going to buy both of you some clothes … and since it's a gift from me, you guys have no say on my choices" Michael explains with his usual carefree attitude. " Oh... I also want my robes back SABER. I don't know about servants, but nights here in Apocrypha are insanely cold for us normal human beings"

"Err... if you wanted them back, you could have just asked" SABER replies

"And that would be very ungentleman-like behaviour to take back what I already gave away. At the very least, I should replace what I'm going to take back... Anyways, I found a shop that has the perfect clothes for you. We're heading there after you eat" Michael said with his chest puffing with pride.

Michael downed his egg pie in 10 seconds flat, then urged the girls to eat faster. 10 minutes later they left the cafe and backtracked to a shop they passed by earlier

"Alright... Here we are." Michael proclaimed much to the girl's dismay.

The girls made sure they PASSED BY this shop earlier because of its disturbing name. On top of the door is the sign...

ATELIER MOE

_Atelier Moe... You have got to be kidding me!_ Though not word per word, this statement passes through their minds.

"Er... Michael-sama... Why are we here?" CASTER bravely asks. She and SABER already knows the answer to her question, but she asks anyway

"I saw a bit of clothes that suited both of you when we passed by earlier. I swear on my life that my choice of clothing will make you two look like the beautiful girls that you are!" Michael said with pride

The girls... didn't share his enthusiasm.

_The shop is sketchy! No matter how much you look at it, IT IS NOT A NORMAL CLOTHES STORE!_ Again, both servants think in almost perfect unison.

They entered the shop and both girls already wanted to get the hell out of there. The store was filled with outfits that do not fit the norms

Maid, nurse, cat girl ears, string bikinis, tabi socks, shrine maiden slippers... and much MUCH more. The others are simply too weird to be described with words. Dread creeps into their hearts as they follow their master into the shop.

The shop was at least 10' wide and about 20' long, filled with so much racks of clothing to the point that walking is barely possible. The walls were filled with pictures of beautiful art works of the past. Michael identifies a picture because he saw it from Memer Solomon's (#5 of the Burial Agency) collection.

"Oh... It's... what's her name again? Pri... Prila? Hmm..." Michael thinks out loud.

Out of nowhere, a voice answers him

"It is Primula from an eroge called Shuffle" The voice said from somewhere behind him

Michael turns and sees a 5'7", 300 pound, glasses wearing man. He sports a black shirt with a print of a browned haired girl holding a guitar on it (K-ON), demin shorts and flip flop slippers. Both stares at each other's eyes, as if sizing up the opponent. After 5 tense seconds, Michael breaks the silence.

"Are you the proprietor of this shop?" Michael asks seriously

"Yes…. Though I have a real name, I am more commonly known as Caesar" The man answered with equal seriousness.

Once again, they enter a silent yet very intense stare down for 5 seconds until Michael breaks the silence. Much to the surprise of his servants, Michael kneels down in front of Caesar much like a knight to his king.

"I am Michael Angelo, Burial Agent of the Church. With your permission, I ask that I may purchase some garments from your store for my friends." Michael said without looking up. Caesar silently stares at him then he raises his left arm and touches Michael's shoulder.

"Proceed" He said with authority.

"THANK YOU SIR!" Michael stands at attention and salutes. He then quickly moves through the columns and searches for the clothes that caught his eye earlier.

The girls were speechless at the abnormal event they have witnessed. They cant help but think that there is some sort of joke being played on them, yet 10 minutes later, they saw no punch line

…_. Is Michael…. Crazy? _Both girls cant help but doubt their master's mental health

Michael finally finishes his shopping spree and returns to the girls. He gives instructions on how they should wear their clothing then gave them some privacy as they changed clothes.

.

.

.

.

10 minutes later

_How in gods name does woman change clothes for 10 minutes? _Michael ask one of the unanswered questions pertaining to the _oh so mysterious_ female race. As if to answer his thoughts, Caesar speaks.

"Brother Michael, though the wait may be aggravating, the rewards are worth the delay" He said with all seriousness

The doors of the dressing room opened and two exceeding beautiful women appeared. Both men were speechless at the ethereal beauties.

"... Er... What do you think?" CASTER shyly breaks the silence

Caesar grabs hold of Michael shoulder and said

"...Who is your master?" without looking away from the girls

"... A man named SHOGUN from a country east from here" Michael replied without looking away from the girls. Even he was surprised how well it fitted them.

"... I see... His unique _LITTLE SKIN EXPOSURE_ style is very present in your work"

"... Thank you..."

Both men observe CASTER first.

CASTER sports a demin blue, long sleeved jacket with a black blouse underneath it. She wears a long brown skirt with a tight fight similar to a kimono. Her shoes comprises of a pair of brown boots that almost reaches her knee.

"... Such artistry..." Caesar comments. "You have given large emphasis on her mature charms without excessive exposure of the skin. By hiding her mature feminine charms, you spark the man's natural lust for the unseen. As for Lady SABER here..."

Then they turn their attention to SABER

SABER dons a red sleeveless one piece Sunday dress with the skirt ending an inch above her knee. Underneath the one piece dress, she wears a black, long sleeve, turtleneck sweater. Her footwear consisted only of a pair of black sandals, thus exposing part of her flawless legs.

"... I must say... mixing the innocence-vibe of the Sunday dress with the mature-vibe of the black turtleneck... very SHOGUN indeed. He has taught you well"

"... Thank You Caesar"

The girls cant helped but be impressed themselves. The shop is abnormal, the owner is abnormal, the clothes are abnormal, even the attitude of their master became abnormal. Yet here they are, standing in front of the mirror, while adoring what their master has given them

Michael pays for the clothes and thanks Caesar, then he and the servants head out.

-:-

11:00 AM, Northwest Apocrypha

The trio makes their way through the forest on top of the mountains of Northwest Apocrypha. Michael carries a picnic basket prepared by CASTER, as if the Apocryphan war was a distant memory.

"CASTER! Michael! Hurry up! We'll be late if we keep to this pace!" SABER called back to Michael and CASTER.

Michael and CASTER are walking side by side, watching the ecstatic SABER as she skips ahead.

"Hmm... She is happy isn't she..." Michael asks CASTER without looking

"Indeed she is" CASTER answers with a soft smile.

"Why?"

"It should be obvious. She is happy because of her new clothes"

"... For 3 hours straight?"

"Of course. The value of one's appearance differ between males and females"

"True... Us true men don't give much thought on how we look. What only matters to us is how strong we are"

"Fu fu fu. Such single mindedness is something we women can't understand" CASTER replies

"I guess men is confusing to a woman just like how women is a mystery to a man" He said as he shrugs the topic off.

SABER reaches the top first then skips out of sight. Michael and CASTER speeds up a little to catch up with her. When they reached the top, they find an awe struck SABER and for a good reason. The two turns to see a valley covered in green with a small river running in the middle. The two servants was silence in awe.

Michael did not share the same feelings, since this was the same path he used to enter Apocrypha. Indeed, if it was the first time he came here, he would be in awe as well.

_When you see one green canyon with a river in the middle, you've seen it all_. He thought but decides not to express his views because the girls are clearly enthralled by nature's beauty. He, instead, watched the two as if he was a father looking over his children.

After a few seconds of silence, Michael breaks the ice with a small laugh.

"What's wrong Michael?" SABER asked. Then she quickly shifted into scolding mode. "I don't recall anything being funny... but if you suddenly tell us that our faces look weird, I _WILL_ hit you"

"Hey! Why in gods name would I say something as rude as that?" Michael complains

SABER sits on a nearby rock, then dons a very serious face. 3 silent seconds later, she sighs then speaks in a very serious voice...

"You both look weird..." SABER said. "Does that ring a bell?"

"Ouch... touché SABER" Michael replies

"PFT HAHAHAHAHA!" CASTER laughs wildly." Perfect! Such a perfect copy of Michael! HAHAHA!"

"*Sigh* Its something I picked up from dealing with this idiot 24/7" SABER explains while rudely pointing her thumb at Michael

"Oy... Thats mean... Is that any way to address your master?" Michael protests

"I hate lying" SABER said in a monotone voice. Before Michael could respond, she quickly moved back to the main topic "Anyways, care to tell us what you were thinking about?"

"Hm... Changing the topic to dodge an argument... Not bad"

"Unfortunately, I learned from the best..." SABER said with a sigh. "Now, what was so funny?"

"Well, nothing is funny. I'm just reflecting on something" Michael looks at the view with peaceful eyes. " Times like this... taking a nature walk, sightseeing, arguing about meaningless things... This peaceful events makes me forget that both of you are heroines of the past. Im just saying... It would be nice if this goes on indefinitely"

Both servants are silenced by his statement. They were deeply moved by the idea of indefinite peace and tranquillity with their master.

"You'd be surprised Michael" CASTER speaks out after a few seconds of meaningful silence. "A lot of us female servants would fight, and if needed, die for these peaceful times"

"I agree. Most of us heroines didn't have that many chances to live like this" SABER adds."What we do right now is making up for what we could not do in the past. If waging war will bring us these little bit of happiness, then the risks are worth taking"

With their hearts a little bit fluffier and their heads held a little bit higher, the trio resume their walk towards their destination.

* * *

><p>-Destruction Derby-<p>

More than a thousand people gathered at the rugged terrain of Northwest Apocrypha to witness Nene's very first event. Masters and Servants make up the bulk of the audience, but there are also locals who desire to watch the death match, and a few merchants with the intention of earning a little cash within the chaos.

There is but one thing that thing in common with all among the warriors of the grail... and that is food. Lots and lots of food, with a little bit of booze ranging from fresh water to vodkas. Much like a long awaited NBA finals or a boxing match between 2 top boxers, the atmosphere is filled with hype.

The trio sits on the grass while readying their feast consisting mostly of sandwiches and salads. The tree that they were sitting under, not only provided excellent shade from the heat, but also provided them with a delicious desert, apples.

All in all, the atmosphere is bright and cheerful... except Michael was making his serious face again. The two servants were a bit nervous about it, then they soon realize that majority of the masters around were making the exact same face. The masters searched, analysed and rubbed their heads in confusion. It's as if something was not right, and much to their frustration, both servants don't know why.

"Michael? Is there something wrong?" SABER timidly asked, clearly sensing the seriousness of the situation

"... hm... Its almost time for the battle..." Michael replied "Nene said that the battleground was a plain right? ... so where is it? ... or was Nene lying... hmm..."

True enough, surrounding them were nothing but mountains and the closest plain was at least an hour walk from their position. Before the servants could voice their thoughts, _HER_ voice booms in their minds.

"**5 minutes till show time... I guess its time... BATTLEGROUND ASEMBLE!"**

The event that transpired in front of them could only be expressed by one simple phrase

"Mother of God!" said Michael

Though other phrases were also said, the expression of shock was clear. Example of other phrases are _Good Lord, Oh my God, Holy Sh*t, Da Faq is that sh*t, _among many others in different languages.

A massive semi invisible box covered the entire battlefield. Within the box, the audience witnessed the world change at a ridiculous pace.

Trees bloom, grow tall then withers. Mountains erode into valleys, which in turn erodes to form rivers. The said river would dry up, and then a second later, lava would flow through it. The bizarre environmental continued for a minute until it stops, the landscape was nothing like its previous beauty. The once beautiful green mountain is now a perfectly flat, 3 square kilometer plain. The ground looked as if the earth was burnt to a crisp.

If it was physically possible, everyone's jaw would have slammed into the ground beneath them. After a few seconds of dumbfound disbelief, the masters and servants became lively again. Within the renewed enthusiasm, CASTER draws close to Michael and whispers into his ear.

"Michael, that was the work of a CASTER" She whispered

"Really? How did you know?" Michael whispers back

"I am a magus from the age of the gods, thus I am well versed in such things"

"I see... but that didn't look like magecraft at all... way to powerful"

"It wasn't... It was True Magic" CASTER said. It was met by look of shock from Michael. "I know it's hard to believe, but a large scale time manipulation such as that can only be considered as a miracle. Not even I can do something like that"

"... Okay... I'll consent to your reasoning. But if you, a magus of from the age of gods, cant do it, then how in gods name can you say that any CASTER can pull off something like that?"

CASTER ponders for a bit then replies

"From what I have learned about this era, it is common knowledge that werewolves are ill equipped for magic, correct?" CASTER asks and Michael nods in response. "Then the answer is simple, Nene is the master of a CASTER type servant."

"That doesn't really answer my question"

"I'm getting there. If it is summoned and receives support from Gaia, then it is a Counter Guardian, not a servant. With a monstrous master and the aid of Gaia at their disposal, true magic is very possible for them" CASTER explains but much to her surprise, Michael calmly nods in response." Why are you so calm! If Nene wanted to, she could order her servant to kill everyone! She could win this Grail War in seconds!"

"Fufufu. No need to be so suspicious CASTER. I am surprised at the existence of a Counter Guardian, I am pretty sure Nene wouldn't do that"

"And the proof to back your statement?"

"Easy. Because this is the_**6**__**th**_Apocryphan Holy Grail War." Michael puts emphasis on 6th. "thus implying that there were 5 werewolf- caster pair in the past. History also states that the past wars have produced legitimate winners with their wish being granted"

"But that doesn't mean that Nene is the same! We-" CASTER said with a slightly raised voice but was interrupted by heavy hand over her shoulder

"Thats enough serious talk please" SABER said. "Our picnic wont arrange itself. Michael you will help me"

"Carefree aren't you" Said Michael as he unpacks their feast

"Ofcourse. This is one of those very few moments where we can simply enjoy ourselves without the threat of being killed. I refuse any bloody subjects to be present during this time" SABER replied

"... You know... we are here to watch people killing each other right?" Michael asks teasingly "Doesnt that defeat your _no bloody subjects_ rule?"

Though unexpected, SABER reacts with the most peaceful smile she has ever shown

"I know I cant change that fact... but a picnic is something I couldn't do when I was alive. Peaceful events like eating with friends under such perfect weather is what I live for. If I can get to experience these little bits of happiness amidst the war, then any risk is worth it" SABER said with so much innocence that Michael and CASTER cant help but cave in.

"Fine... I'll leave the issue for now" CASTER joins the preparation.

-:-

A few minutes later, the show finally begins.

"**Ahem... Mike test Mike test... 1 2 3... Can everyone one here me?"**

_You're planting words into our brain! How in gods name cant we hear you?_ Sarcastically thought by the people present in the battlefield

"**Just so you guys know... Just like whispering in chorus, I can hear your thoughts if you think about the same thing at the same time"** Said Nene

_... SHIT!_ Majority of the people thought as colour drained from their faces

"**BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Nice reaction! FYI, I lied! There is no way anyone can have such a convenient skill." **The entire human population sighs in relief, and in unison. **" As much as I want to poke fun at you humans, the game that you've been waiting for will begin momentarily. Willing participants please enter the battleground. Remember, this event is NOT MANDATORY, thus no one is forced to join."**

One by one, several servants enter the black parking field, each making sure that they are very far apart from each other. After a minute or so, the total number of participants went up to only 21.

**"*sigh* Only 21 huh... As much as I love how smart humans are, if you guys keep playing safe, then the war will be bori-... I mean, nothing ventured, nothing gained right?"**

The human population cant help but be worried of their future with an all mighty yet very whimsical werewolf as their moderator.

"**Well, whatever. I guess I'll explain the basic rules of the event. **

**First rule, SERVANTS ONLY. Lets face facts people, watching masters fight is pretty boring compared to watching servants fight. **

**Second rule, as stated yesterday, any servant kills within battleground will be rewarded with 10 million credits. Unfortunately, if someone kills someone who already has a kill count, that person only gains 10 million credits. The regular 80% inheritance rule does not apply within the battlefield."**

Not one objection was heard from the crowd, just as Nene expected.

"**Man... you humans are so smart... it kinda gets boring after a while... *sigh*... and the answer is yes by the way. The purpose of the suspension is to keep anyone from earning way too much creds. **

**Okay, rule 3. NOTHING is allowed enter or exit the battlefield within the 5 minute battle royal. Its not like I'm forbidding anyone, its just that the entire battlefield will be enclosed within an invisible dome, thus NOTHING, be it prana or debris, can enter or leave. **

**And for the final rule. I will give another 5 minute extension before the start of the battle. Anyone who feels unsure of fighting can leave right now, while those who are having second thoughts of not joining can enter during the time I allotted."**

Murmurs are heard from the audience as they talked among themselves. Many of them are recalculating their odds of success with their servants.

"**Oh... 1 last thing. This is more of an advice than a rule."** Nene suddenly adds, forcing silence back to the ecstatic crowd **" To those servants who will be joining the event, I suggest you pull out your strongest Noble Phantasm at the very get go... you might not live long enough latter on."**

* * *

><p>"Michael can I ask you something?" SABER asks during the 5 minute extension<p>

"You already did"

"That isn't what I me-... Fine, I'll ask you something"

"Go ahead" Michael replied with a smile

"_She's getting used to my attitude huh... It's truly a blessing to have some friends"_

"Why didn't we join the battle" SABER asked. Much to her displeasure, Michael made an _EVEN A RETARD KNOWS THE ANSWER_ face. "Well I'm sorry for being a retard! I'm not as gifted in strategy as you are! "

Michael is shocked

"No... way... You can read minds?"

"TELL. ME. NOW. OR. I. WILL. HIT. YOU" SABER said in a very threatening manner. Sure enough, Michael caves in from the pressure

"Fine, fine. No need to get angry." Michael shrugs exaggeratedly. "Its all about the terrain"

"I don't understand Michael." CASTER says" The field is flat with no obstacles. Nowhere to run or hide. Should'nt this be a perfect battlefield for SABER?"

SABER nods in agreement

"Actually its the opposite. In this battleground, the servant class BERSERKERS, LANCERS and SABERS are as good as dead." Michael explains

Though her pride as someone who belonged to the strongest class took a little hit, she kept silent. She knows all too well how insightful Michael is about these things.

"This large battlefield is specifically design for abnormally high speed movement. In short, this is a battlefield for RIDERS"

-:-

"**ALRIGHT! 30 seconds to go!"**Nene said with renewed vigour. **"And the number of contestants went up to 25! WOOOOT! No time to waste! Servants, bring out your Noble Phantasms coz I'm sure you wont get another chance"**

Light blinds the audience as the feeling of dread overflows from the battlefield. The contents of the field now resembled a war. The not-so-note-worthy competitors (aka Minor Heroes) summoned mounts such as horses, lions, elephants, rhinos and small 20 gunned ships.

The stronger heroes instantly caught the eyes of the audience. At two opposite sides of the field, two large armadas of ships of different sizes.

The fleet coming from the northeast corner of the field comprised of mostly massive 40 gunned galleons, and at the center of it all was an abnormally large 50 gunned galleon with the name ROYAL FORTUNE carved on the back of the ship.

The fleet on the southwest corner contained relatively smaller ships that wielded 20 guns or less. As if to make up for the lack of firepower, their numbers easily dwarf the opposing fleet. The largest of the ships, and presumably, the flagship of the fleet was the 40 gunned galleon, GOLDEN HIND.

For some unknown reason, all of the ships are sailing over the flat terrain as if it was made of water. Though physically impossible, the crowd dismiss it as the type of weirdness that is common in Apocrypha... thus perfectly normal.

And finally, the most noteworthy of all the participants came from a sound from the old world... the roar of a diesel engine. All eyes turned to the uncommon sound and found a very interesting sight

"**WOOOO! Unbelievable! I haven't seen one of those for about... a thousand years! Maybe even more!"**

A plane with its signature propeller made a lot of noise that forced everyone to look at it. The thing that made it special was its red color and its 3 pairs of wings

"**Fu fu fu! I know who that guy is... but I guess not a lot people now a days know about this guy... owel"** Nene said happily, much to the displeasure of the crowd. **"From the looks of it, you humans do catch on quickly. Yes, this field is specifically made for RIDERS to abuse their speed. Its no surprise that all of the contestants are RI- ... wait... Is that-... Oh... I stand corrected. Two participants are not RIDERS"**

The crowd searches and spots two servants who are clearly out of their element.

One was a beautiful female with animal ears and tail, green theme clothes, wielding a long bow. It is clear indication that she is an ARCHER. She calmly ignores the stares and cheers of the crowd.

The other one was a blond girl wearing a red one piece dress with a see through skirt and wields a weird shaped red and black sword. The moment she noticed that she was in the center of attention, she waves at the crowd like a famous actress to her fans. Judging from her weapon, she is clearly a SABER.

"**Fu fu fu, a SABER and an ARCHER... This should be interesting!... AHEM... without further ado... RIP EACH OTHERS HEADS OFF... NOW!"**

* * *

><p>"FIRE!"<p>

A chorus of 20 cannons, fired at the same time, rocks the GOLDEN HIND. At the receiving end of the barrage, a 40 gunned ship adds a few more holes into its beaten up appearance. Without missing a beat, 2 20 gunned support ships open fires, which causes the poor galleon to blow up to bits.

"_As expected of Nikal and Jawbone Rick, they follow commands like well trained dogs_" Thought the red head woman.

"HIT THE DECK!" a crewman screamed

The crew hits the deck as a barrage of cannon balls fly past their heads. The woman tilts her head slightly and allows the big chunk of lead to pass by.

"40 GUNNER AT 400 METERS AHEAD! PORT SIDE!"

"Load grape shots on the starboard side! Drop port anchor!" She commanded

"AYE CAPTAIN!" said a crewman.

"Mr. Kibri! Signal Daal, Jimmy and Jung that we're going for a _QUICK TURN_"

"AYE SIR!" the crew replied.

Kibri climbs the mast and signals the ships behind the GOLDEN HIND of their plan. The crew quickly reloads the cannons with grapeshots. She felt the slight drop in their speed as the anchor hits the ground. Despite the chaotic execution, the red captain believes that her crew is much more efficient than standard military personnel

"200 METERS AND CLOSING CAP'TN! ANOTHER SHIP, 500 METERS OFF THE BOW!"

"_Perfect"_ She thought

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" She roars to her crew

GOLDEN HIND approaches the enemy ship in full haste. At the point where both ships are parallel to each other, GOLDEN HIND performs a feat never before seen in naval history. The anchor acts as a brake and a pivot point that forced the GOLDEN HIND to drift like a car. The other ship fires but misses due to the GOLDEN HIND's sudden change in speed and direction. Instead of the usual side by side, GOLDEN HIND's bow is barely 5 meters away from the enemy ship's port side.

Due to the galleons design which places the guns on the side of the ship, GOLDEN HIND cannot counter attack as it is. Unfortunately for the enemy, the GOLDEN HIND was reveals 3 smaller ships that was hidden by its large bulk. 30 cannons roars the second GOLDEN HIND was out of their line of fire. The hull of the enemy ship is blown inside out by the barrage.

"CUT THE ANCHOR! PORT SIDE FIRE!" The captain commanded

"FIRE!"

20 grapeshot rounds are sent to the incoming ship.

A **grapeshot** is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls packed tightly into a canvas bag. In a sense, it is the prototype of the **shotgun. **In naval warfare, the metal balls are chain linked to each other which acts like a boleadora. It's main function is to destroy the sail of enemy ships.

The enemy ship took the 20 grapeshots head on and suffered for it. With its sails destroyed, the ship became target practice to the 10 nearby support ships. More 100 cannons roars, turning the once proud ship into toothpicks.

"OFF TO DAVY JONE'S LOCKER WITH YA!" She roars and is followed by the roars of victory from her crew

She turns her attention the enemy flagship, the 50 gunned ROYAL FORTUNE.

"_Not enough Barty boy... Seriously not enough. You cant expect these half-assed strategies would beat the one who destroyed the INVINCIBLE ARMADA." _ She thought.

Yes, the moment she saw the ROYAL FORTUNE, she knew exactly who she was dealing with. Her enemy is the rockstar of the pirate world. At one point in time, many believed that he was invincible. And in his death, the golden age of piracy ended with him. He is the most successful pirate in the world. He is Bartholomew Roberts AKA Black Bart.

Despite his rockstar status among the pirates, she can easily guess that he isn't much of a strategist. Right now, the ROYAL FORTUNE is hiding behind a thick wall of 40 gunned ships. The strategy though childishly simple, yet no one can disregard its effectiveness.

"So... thats how you want to play it huh... well then... ALL HANDS AT THE READY! LETS KNOCK THAT BASTARD OFF HIS HIGH HORSE!"

Her comrade roars and the high seas battle resumes in earnest.

* * *

><p>In the heat of the battlefield, a lone red knight dances among the flame. Cannon balls are fired at her yet she simply twirls like a ballerina to evade them. If anyone is watching, one could say that she was trying to provoke her foes by acting like she wasn't even serious.<p>

Truth be told, that is exactly what she is doing. Her current foe was a 20 gunned ship, and based on its design, it is a vessel of eastern origins.

The red knight knows her disadvantage in terms of range, thus she provokes the ship to draw closer. It is a gamble though... if the ship remains at long range, she can easily predict the trajectory of the cannons, thus making it easier for her to dodge. On the other hand, the closer the ship gets, the less time for her to react.

Another salvo of cannon fire comes at her, yet she dodges them with the grace of a dancer. In a make shift attempt to counter attack, she uses her sword like a baseball bat and returns a round back to the ship.

"URYA!" She puts all of her strength into her swing but it misses the ship by a meter. "Tch... so close..."

As if realizing the dangers, the ship stops firing and begins its charge towards the red knight

The red knight readies herself against the ship... until her instincts tell her to dodgeroll away from her current position. Not a second later, a silver mounted knight wielding a massive lance, runs through. She recovers herself and attempts a counter attack but the knight was already left her range. Without missing a beat, the ship changes its angle and lets loose a salvo of led.

"_Not this time you ingrate!"_ She thought as she gracefully dodges most of the cannon balls. She times her dodges until the very last round where she redirects back at the ship. This time, her aim was perfect and the round hits one of the cannons.

The ground suddenly shakes, as if something was approaching her. The knight is at least 50 feet away from her, readying for another charge

"_Hm... its not him..."_ The ground shakes violently. In fact, the footsteps are too slow and too heavy to be a horse.

"!" She suddenly realizes her mistake and launches a full force swing behind her. Her sword locks with a large ivory tusk, and connected to it was monstrous animal clad in bronze armor. "A war elephant?"

The elephant roars and proceeds to smack the red knight with its trunk. She uses her sword as a shield and was able to keep standing, but was pushed back 10 meters.

"_I'm in a pinch... aren't I..."_

In front of her was the war elephant, readying itself for a mad charge. To her left was the ship, slowly but surely, inching its way near to her. The crew seems to be preparing to jump and attack her. To her right was the silver mounted knight, ridding at full speed to impale her.

Their plan is as clear as day. They are abusing their powerful mounts and hit & run tactics to attack freely without fear of counter attack. 3 on 1 and no way to retaliate, without a doubt, her end is nigh.

"_Umu! Thats how it should be! It wouldn't be any fun if I won too easily"_ She thought arrogantly. Though all 3 servants are outside her sword range, all of them are now within her Noble Phantasm's range. She points her sword to the heavens and begins her chant.

"**REGUM CAELORUM! ET GEHENNA! "**

Though her voice is drowned by the cannon fire of a nearby naval war...

"**Build thyself and scrape the heavens! "**

The words themselves can be all heard by all that is present...

"**Mark this place with thy supreme brilliance!"**

A blinding light and a storm of red roses engulf the 3 servants.

The invitation is sent and the guests are ushered into the _theatre of the deranged_.

The 3 servants regain their senses and discovers that they were no longer in the battlefield.

"**AESTUS DOMUS AUREA!"**

"Welcome honoured guests." The red knight said with authority "Take a seat and enjoy the show... for it is the last pleasure you will ever experience"

The actors are ready, the stage is set

"now... LETS DANCE!"

And the show begins

* * *

><p>If someone was to describe the battlefield, it's similar to the old world disco floor.<p>

Noisy, chaotic, unrefined.

The participants simply danced to their own tune, without any regard to their fellow dancers. Though it's good for self expression, it is ugly to watch.

On the other hand, above the chaotic dance floor is a waltz reserved for two. The dance is fast, graceful and without restriction of space.

"_Hmm... I'm in trouble..."_ The black and violet horsewoman thought.

"HA!" She whips her golden bridle to force her mount to go faster. The Pegasus answers by beating its wings faster.

An unnatural roar approaches directly from behind, and in a panic, the horsewoman pulled the reigns, causing the Pegasus to shoot straight up. Not a second later, red bullets shoot through the space that they occupied.

She turns her attention to her pursuer. Reflected on Cybele is the red 3 wined planed that has been chasing her ever since the battle has started. If she didn't know better, the red plane is only focusing on killing her and no one else. She instinctively understood that the plane is specialized to kill anything that can fly. Even if her Pegasus possesses the defensive capabilities of a dragon, she does her best not to get hit at all. She even undid BREAKER GORGON just to be sure.

The red plane points its nose up and gives chase. The moment the propeller was aligned with her, gunshots are fired. She puts Pegasus into a slight dive to avoid the barrage but the plane quickly changes its angle, giving them no room to breathe. A new barrage comes their way, but is avoided when Pegasus drops into a steep dive.

The black horsewoman decided to test her theory. The Pegasus dove straight into the heart of chaos, the place where the naval battle between two fleets is most fierce.

Her mind went to overdrive as she perfectly dodged cannon balls, debris, swords, harpoons, a camel (How did that get there?) like her life depended on it... no... her life really depended on it. Any less than perfection is fatal. A second too late will knock her out of the sky. A second too early will give her pursuer an opportunity to catch up.

A thought runs through her mind and it revolves around the red plane. Due to its inability to make tight turns, it cant give chase through the maze of ships. However, she could hear its distinct engine in the nearby vicinity. And the fact that she hasn't heard its unique gunshot sound, her theory is further reinforced.

"_That thing is stalking only me"_

That thing has ignored larger, slower targets, such as ships, and focused on a smaller, fast and very hard to hit target, namely herself.

"_No doubt about it... That thing's ability only works on things that fly"_

Her thought was interrupted when the roar of the plane was heard from behind her

"_When did he get there?"_

The plane lets loose a barrage of bullets but is dodged when Pegasus quickly drops altitude. Now flying 2 feet from the ground, she no longer had any cover against her pursuer. To make matters worse, 20 feet ahead of her was a ship with its guns aimed at her.

"_This is the end... huh... Forgive me master"_ She accepts her fate. _"If I am to die, I might as well take that ship with me"_

"HA!" She whips the golden reigns and begins her suicide run

Though her determination is pure and solid, fate seems to have some other plans.

The hull of the ship is blown from the inside causing the ship to capsize. A massive beast bursts through the ship with no intention of stopping. Without waiting for any command, the Pegasus opens its wings forward and beats its wings, reducing its speed considerably. It barrel rolls over the beast, missing it by inches, then launches up to the sky.

The red plane was not so lucky

The moment the Pegasus shot up to the sky, it also dodged an arrow that was ment to kill it. Due to its lack of manuverability, the plane takes the arrow in the propeller. Out of nowhere, 6 arrows skewer the engine, permanently disabling the plane. The plane looses altitude and a second later, turns into a pile of scrap metal as the beast plows head first into it, effectively killing the servant within it.

"_That... is one big boar"_ The black horsewoman thinks to herself.

She stares at the house sized boar, then to the smaller figure behind it. It was the green, animal eared ARCHER that killed her nemesis, and from the looks of it, the massive boar is her Noble Phantasm. The green archer readies stares at black horsewoman for a second, as if to size her up. ARCHER raises her bow and takes aim at the distant Pegasus.

"_*Sigh* One after another..."_ She cant help but that that she is cursed or something

"HA!" She whips her reigns and the Pegasus answers with a burst of speed. They begin their charge with ARCHER as the target.

* * *

><p>"<strong>STOP! CSEASE AND DESIST! FREEZE! HOLD YOUR HORSES! PAUSE! TIME'S UP PEOPLE! "<strong> Nene commands

At her word, all cannons stop in unison. The cannon balls that were already in the air fades into oblivion. Even the furious charge of the Pegasus quickly turned into a leisurely glide down to earth.

"**Despite how jaw dropping awesome the action was, the death count is disappointingly low... *sigh*... If only those two retarded pirates didn't focus on each other, then there would have been more death and des-... Wait... We're 4 servants short... Where the hell is that red SABER?"**

As if to answer her call, a storm of light and roses suddenly appeared at the southern section of the battlefield. After it dies down, the red SABER stands in the middle. She raises her hands to the sky and said.

"PREATOR! FEAST YOUR EYES AND BE AT AWE! THIS IS THE POWER OF YOUR SERVANT!"

The corpse of 3 servants and their mounts are littered around the red SABER. Each receiving damage at a disturbing level

The mounted knight was sliced through his waist, separating his upper and lower body, while his horse is one head shorter than normal. This is a clear indication that both were sliced in a single sword stroke.

The war elephant had its trunk and both right legs sliced from its body. Its belly was sliced open and all the contents are scattered on the floor for everyone to see. The left tusk was ripped from its hinges and was shoved into the throat of the RIDER.

On the other hand, the ship received the most disturbing damage. The front half of the ship is flattened and twisted, as if it charged headfirst into a mountain at 100 kmph. How that happened is left to imagination.

"**BRAVO! BRAVO! Now that's showmanship!"** Nene said. She is joined by the cheers of the crowd.

"**Since everyone is here, let us review the results…Ahem…. Surprisingly, the servants who were able to get any kills were not RIDER classes…. Not exactly what I expected, but I love surprises so what the hell. Ahem! The 2****nd**** highest kill count goes to ARCHER with 1 kill! Her victim was the red airplane that was chasing the Pegasus. She used her small size to avoid unnecessary battles and waited for an opportunity to strike. Though she sunk 5 ships with that big ass boar, they were only summoned by the 2 pirate RIDERS, thus doesn't count as a kill…. A round of applause people"**

The crowd cheered in honor of the green ARCHER.

"**Ahem… The highest kill count goes to SABER with 3 kills! She trapped 3 servants within her Reality Marble . With no interference from the outside world, she proceeded to perform damage in a kick ass level! CONGRATULATIONS!"**

The crowd chanted "SABER! SABER!" in her honor. SABER waves at the crowd as she basks in the thunderous applause.

"**Well then! Nene's first event comes into an unexpected yet awesome close! Thank you for attending and be ready for the next one! THANK YOU APOCRYPHA! GOOD NIGHT!"**

* * *

><p>Ride To Victory<p>

End

* * *

><p><strong><em><strong>SERVANT COMPENDIUM<strong>_**

**Servant: RIDER** (Francis Drake)

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Strength: D  
>Endurance: C<br>Agility: B  
>Magic: E<br>Luck: EX

Weapon: Twin Guns

SKILLS

**Magic Resistance- D  
><strong>

Cancel _Single-Action_ spells. Magic Resistance of the same degree of an amulet that rejects magical energy.

**Voyager of the Storm**- A+

The talent to impel a ship and those who the user identifies with. Because the ability as a group leader is also necessary, this unique Skill also have the effects of both _Charisma_ and _Military Tactics_.

**Pioneer of the Stars**- EX

The unique Skill given to heroes that became turning points in the human history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" turn into "events that can be realized".

NOBLE PHANTASMS

****Golden Wild Hunt-** EX  
><strong>

Summons the Golden Hind along with countless smaller ships to overwhelm the enemy with sheer firepower

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: RIDER<strong> (Bartholomew Roberts AKA Black Bart)

**Alignment**: Chaotic Good

Strength: D  
>Endurance: D<br>Agility: C  
>Magic: D<br>Luck: A

Weapon: Raiper, Gun

SKILLS

**Riding- A**

All creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts

**Charisma- B**

Suitable for a king of a country.

NOBLE PHANTASMS

**The Royal Fortune- EX**

He summons all his trusted crew who fought with him and all the massive ships that he captured during his time.

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: RIDER<strong> (Bartholomew Roberts AKA Black Bart)

**Alignment**: Chaotic Good

Strength: B  
>Endurance: D<br>Agility: A  
>Magic: B<br>Luck: E

Weapon: Daggers

SKILLS

**Riding- A+**

Creatures on the level of _Phantasmal Beast_ and _Divine Beast_ can be used as mounts. However, that does not apply to members of the_ Dragon Kind_

**Magic Resistance- B**

Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by _High-Thaumaturgy_ and _Greater Rituals_, it is difficult for him to be affected.

**Divinity- E-**

Medusa's divinity was reduced after her transformation into the Gorgon

**Independent Action- C**

Capable of remaining in this world for one day without an established contract

**Monstrous Strength- B**

An ability possessed by monsters and beasts, temporary boost of the _Strength_ parameter by one rank for a time limit determined by the ranking of this skill.

**Mystic Eyes- A+**

Possesses the Mystic Eyes of Petrification.

NOBLE PHANTASMS

******Bellerophon- A+  
><strong>****

A shining golden harness, bridle, and saddle set capable of fully controlling a divine beast. It has no effect by itself, but once fastened to the mount, it increases all attributes by one rank and allows for the beast to use its most powerful charge to physically destroy the target. Medusa normally fastens it to her Pegasus

**Blood Fort Andromeda- B**

the Temple of Blood that surrounded the Shapeless Isle that was the home of Medusa and her sisters, turning it into a palace of darkness, dyed crimson from blood, where the sun didn't shine. Medusa is able to implement it as a bounded field that she uses in order to collect magical energy by converting live humans into blood and organic ooze

**Breaker Gorgon- C-**

A bounded used by Rider mainly as a Mystic Eyeskiller to suppress her powerful Mystic Eyes of Petrification

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: RIDER<strong> ( Manfred von Richthofen AKA The Red Baron)

Alignment: Neutral Good

Strength: D

Endurance: C

Agility: E

Magic: D

Luck: C

Weapon: Luger P08 pistol

SKILLS

**Riding- A**

All creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts.

NOBLE PHANTASM

**The Flying Circus - Fokler Dr. 1- B+ (EX against aerial units)**

The red tri winged plane that is normally intertwined with the legendary german ace of World War 1. As a fighter plane designed for air combat, the Red Baron's rank rises when it fights aerials opponents. Due to being a NP of a servant, the plane's capabilities outstrips its original functions. It is capable of traveling 400- 500 kmph.

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: ARCHER<strong> ( Atalanta )

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Strength: D

Endurance: E

Agility: A

Magic: B

Luck: C

Weapon: Long Bow

SKILLS

**Crossing of Arcadia- C  
><strong>

Can move while jumping over all kinds of obstacles on the field, including enemies.

****Aesthetics of the Last Spurt- C  
><strong>**

Can anticipate the enemy by letting him take the initiative and then confirming his actions. Even in footraces, she always made her opponent run ahead.

****The Golden Apple******- B**

Draws the enemy near by displaying a treasured item.

NOBLE PHANTASM

****** Disputed Spoils of War- C****  
><strong>

A boar's pelt (with head attached) attained as booty of the Calydonian Boar Hunt. By releasing prana, high-speed traveling long distances in a straight line becomes possible. While moving, characters in the traveled route enter in disorder and start killing each other by mistake.

****The Complaint Message on the Arrow- A****

By sending a letter affixed to an arrow requesting divine protection with the "Celestial Bow" received from the guardian deity Artemis, in the next turn a rain of arrows will downpour and perform an attack on all units. The letter on the arrow will randomly reach either Artemis or Apollo. If it reaches Artemis then all women will become targets, while if it reaches Apollo all men will be targeted.

**The Beast of Divine Punishment- A+**

****Summons the wild boar dispatched by Artemis divine punishment was both giant as a mountain and brutal and attempted to completely devour the crops of the city-state Calydon.

_********_******The Seven Arrows of the Big Dipper- B+******

Meteor arrows that rain incessantly from the "seven stars of the Ursa Major" in heavens. 7 consecutive attacks are possible. Only in the first strike the target can be designated arbitrarily, and thereafter the attacks converge at said target. Fundamentally, the target cannot be altered, but if said target dies in middle of the attack, the remaining number of strikes will be divided among different targets on that location at random

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHORS NOTE: <strong>SABER's stats are based on my F/E SABER

* * *

><p><strong>Servant: SABER <strong>( Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus )

Alignment: Neutral Good

Strength: A+++

Endurance: B

Agility: E

Magic: E

Luck: E

Weapon: Sword

SKILLS

**Magic Resistance- C  
><strong>

Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against Magecraft on the level of _High-Thaumaturgy_ and _Greater Rituals_. Because she herself does not have any Magic Resistance, Nero boasts a low level that is unbecoming of the Saber Class

**Imperial Privilege- EX**

An ability that, due the insistence of the owner, Skills that are essentially impossible to possess can be obtained for a short period of time. In cases when the Rank is above A, even the "burden to the body" is acquired (such as _Divinity_).For Nero, the relevant Skills are _Riding_, swordsmanship, fine arts, _Charisma_, _Military Tactics_ and others

**Headache Sufferer- B**

A curse inherited from the birthplace of one's previous life. Due suffering from chronic headaches, the success rate of mental Skills decreases of the presence of this Skill, it is hard for Nero to perfectly demonstrate her valuable talent for fine arts

NOBLE PHANTASM

******Aestus Domus Aurea****- A+  
><strong>

The Domus Aurea the theater designed by Nero and constructed in Rome during her lifetime, given form and reproduced through prana with a method extremely similar to that used by Reality Marble. It is an "absolute imperial zone" which allows the owner to achieve their aspirations (which can, naturally, include smashing a foe to pieces).

When the theater was first opened for business, many of the spectators left midway through the performance, causing an outraged Nero to blockade all doorways once the second performance began and not let even one person leave until the curtains of the stage were down. As a result, escape - without Nero's permission or cessastion of the Phantasm - is virtually impossible.


End file.
